NEW YORK :World number one Aryna Sabalenka began her U.S. Open title defence in style with a 7-5 6-1 win over Switzerland's Rebeka Masarova in the first round on Sunday.

The three-times major winner overcame a shaky start and struggled to find her range, grinding through a tense opening set before racing through the second, feeding off a vocal Arthur Ashe crowd.

"When I won that first set and you cheered me out I got goosebumps," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "Your support means a lot to me, thank you for coming. It was an amazing atmosphere."

She had been tested early in the opener, dropping serve after back-to-back forehand errors before reclaiming the break when Masarova double-faulted. Despite landing just 50 per cent of her first serves, she closed out the set on return

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