Victoria Azarenka has booked a clash with the top seed of the Guadalajara Open after defeating Elina Avanesyan 6-4 6-2 in Monday's opening round.
In the last event of the season before the WTA Finals, Belarus' Azarenka was too strong with her return game for her Russian opponent, winning 53 per cent (32-of-60) of her return points while capitalising on five-of-seven break point opportunities to earn a shot at world number eight Paula Badosa.
While Azarenka has no chance of qualifying for the WTA Finals – with only the top-eight players in the rankings making it through – Belinda Bencic is one of the players who can sneak in with a great result this week.
Needing to make the semi-finals to have a chance, she got off on the right foot with a 7-5 6-7 (10-12) 6-3 win against Leylah Fernandez in her opening match.
Petra Kvitova can also qualify if she reaches the final, and she started without issue, defeating Bernarda Pera 6-3 7-5.
Ekaterina Alexandrova had an outside chance of claiming a WTA Finals spot if she won this tournament, but she was the victim of the day's biggest upset, falling 6-4 7-6 (10-8) to Camila Osorio.
At 22nd in the world, Liudmila Samsonova is the lowest-ranked player in the field with a mathematical chance at qualification, but she is a step closer after handling Kaia Kanepi 6-1 7-5.
Despite Fernandez's earlier loss, it was a strong day for the Canadians, with Bianca Andreescu proving too good in her 6-2 6-4 victory against Jil Teichmann, and Rebecca Marino also only needed two sets to defeat Ann Li 6-2 7-6 (7-2).
China's Lin Zhu came from a set behind to beat France's Alize Cornet 3-6 6-3 6-4, while Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk had a much quicker result in her 6-1 6-3 triumph over Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
World number 34 Elise Mertens had no problems in one of the biggest mismatches of the day as she defeated world number 185 Asia Muhammad 6-3 6-2, and Sloane Stephens needed only 54 minutes to advance 6-0 6-2 past Linda Fruhvirtova.
In the last match of the night, Mexico's top chance Fernanda Contreras Gomez was eliminated by Alja Tomljanovic 6-2 6-1.
Murray embracing new found freedom after tennis retirement
Andy Murray expected to miss playing tennis after putting his racket down for the final time last month but said retirement has been "the complete opposite" to what he anticipated.
Murray, who won three grand slam titles across a glittering 19-year career, saw his time on the court come to an end at Roland-Garros in the Paris Olympics.
The 37-year-old competed alongside Dan Evans in the men's doubles, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition to eventual bronze medallists Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
Murray withdrew from Wimbledon ahead of the Games after picking up a back injury against Jordan Thompson at the Queen's Club Championship, the latest of many injury setbacks towards the latter stages of his career.
"Since I've stopped, I feel really free and have got lots of time to do whatever it is I want," Murray told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"I can dedicate time to my children and have free time to play golf or go to the gym on my own terms.
"It is really nice and I didn't expect that. I was expecting to find retirement hard and be missing tennis a lot and wanting to get back on the tennis court on tour.
"So far it has been the complete opposite to what I was thinking."
The 37-year-old won his first grand slam in 2012 at the US Open before ending Britain's 77-year wait for a men's Wimbledon champion in 2013, winning it again in 2016.
During his career, Murray played 1,001 singles matches in his career, earning his landmark victory against Alexei Popyrin in three sets at Queen's.
After his injury in W14, the Scot vowed that the 2024 Olympic Games would be where his career ended, a competition he won two gold medals in 2012 and 2016.
While there was no perfect ending in the French capital, Murray revealed he was now spending some quality time with his family.
"The thing that I always found difficult in recent years was that there was always a guilt associated with what I was doing," Murray said.
"If I was going away for a trip of like three to four weeks I would feel guilty leaving my children at home or being away from my wife for a long time with them, so missing the kids I found hard.
"But if I was at home with the kids then I was running around and spending a lot of my time on my feet after training.
"I was then thinking 'is this going to affect my training or performance the next day, should I have my feet up?' I found that stuff difficult over the last few years."
US Open: ATP's next generation pushing each other, says Sinner
After triumphing at Flushing Meadows, Jannik Sinner feels the next generation of stars on the ATP Tour push each other on.
Sinner won his second grand slam title by beating Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-4 7-5 in the US Open final on Sunday.
The Italian became the third youngest player in the Open Era to win the title at the Cincinnati Open and Flushing Meadows during the same season after Andy Roddick (2003) and John McEnroe (1981).
He is the third youngest player during the Open Era to register a minimum of 23 wins in grand slam matches during a single season, older only than Pete Sampras (23-2, 1993) and Rafael Nadal (24-2, 2008).
And while Novak Djokovic is still going strong, Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are spearheading a new generation of stars that are already living up to their potential.
"I feel like the new generation, we push each other," the world number one told ESPN after his win over 26-year-old Fritz.
"I always have players who are going to make me a better player, because there are going to be times where they beat me.
"Then you have to try to find a way how to win against certain players."
Alcaraz was among those to congratulate Sinner, with the Spaniard posting on his Instagram story after the final.
Fritz, meanwhile, became the second oldest American male in the Open Era to reach a maiden men's singles final at a grand slam, after MaliVai Washington (27 years 15 days) at Wimbledon in 1996.
He was looking to emulate Roddick's success from 2003, ending a 21-year wait for a homegrown champion at Flushing Meadows, but could not get over the line.
"There's obviously a lot of positives, and when I get some time to cool down then I'll be happy about the fact that I made it to the finals," reflected Fritz, who feels like he let fans down.
"But right now I'm pretty disappointed in just a lot of things on the court, how I played, how I hit certain shots. It sucks.
"And I'm not saying that it necessarily would have made a difference. I don't know if it would have, but I just would have liked to have played better and given myself a better chance. It's really disappointing right now.
"I feel like the fans obviously, American fans, been wanting a men's champion for a long time, and I'm pretty upset with how I played. I feel like, I don't know, I feel like I almost let a lot of people down."
US Open: Fritz 'sorry' for not providing crowd with home victory
Taylor Fritz said he was "sorry" he could not provide home victory in the US Open after losing in straight sets to world number one Jannik Sinner in the final.
It has been 21 years since an American claimed the US Open title when Andy Roddick won in straight sets in 2003 against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Fritz became the first American to reach the final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer in 2006, after beating Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals.
He also registered impressive victories against Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud on his route to the final.
Yet he came up short against the reigning Australian Open champion, losing 6-3 6-4 7-5 in the final in front of a home crowd at Flushing Meadows.
"Thanks to the fans. Being an American at the US Open is incredible, feeling the love all week," said Fritz after the final.
"I know we've been waiting for a champion for a long time, so I'm sorry I couldn't get it done this time, but I'm going to keep working and, hopefully, the next time."
Fritz became the second-oldest American (26 years and 313 days) in the Open era to reach a maiden men's singles final at a grand slam.
"It's been an amazing two weeks and congrats to Jannik, he played a great match. It was really impressive, he was too good," he added.
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