Emma rajanu acknowledged that her decision to take a month off from competition before the US Open was not ideal for producing her best tennis Under Pressure this became evident when she was defeated 6 to1 3-6 6 to4 by Sophia Kennan in the first round of the tournament reflecting on her preparation rajak said I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open I know when I have a lot of matches just like every player you feel really good you feel like everything's automatic so yeah I think I can learn from it and manage my schedule slightly differently maybe despite performing well at Wimbledon and Washington earlier in the summer rajak con chose to return to London for training instead of competing in the North American tournaments leading up to the US Open the 21-year-old hoped her quality of play would compensate for the lack of match practice but Kenan the 2020 Australian Open Champion delivered a strong performance winning the battle of the grand Slam champions kenan's first serve was consistent from the outset she kept rajaku off balance with a mix of deep ground strokes Drop shots and slices while also being aggressive in taking the ball early as a result Kenan cruised through the first set with Little Resistance from rajaku rajaku fought back in the second set showing resilience and strong defensive Play She forced errors from Kennan and capitalized on opportunities to step inside the Baseline and attack however in the final set kenan's serving remained precise Under Pressure especially as rajaku raised her level in the closing games kenan's willingness to take risks paid off and she secured the victory rajak kanu who became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam at the US Open in 2021 has yet to register another win in New York she expressed her disappointment saying I feel down I feel sad obviously this is a tournament I really want to do well in since winning her grand slam title rajaku has faced challenges similar to those experienced by Kenan including injuries and fluctuating form Kenan who had struggled with injuries and form since her 2020 Triumph came into the US Open with a poor record in 2024 however facing a fellow major champion on a big stage brought out a vintage performance from her rajak cono acknowledged her opponent's strong play stating I think I've had it a few times now when opponents have played really well against me and yeah it's for a reason I guess so credit to her she stuck it out and served it out in the third set there was no let up although rajaku fought hard her slow start and hesitation in crucial moments revealed that she might have been better prepared with more matches before the tournament rajaku plans to analyze her performance and improve for the rest of the season looking ahead to the next Grand Slim in Australia meanwhile British no one Katy Bolter seated 31st overcame a slow start to defeat qualifier Alexandra sasnovich 5 to7 6-2 6 to1 in the men's draw Dan Evans delivered one of the most courageous performances of his career defeating 23rd seed Ken kachanov in a 5- set Marathon that lasted 5 hours and 35 minutes