Williams, Djokovic Cruise At U.S Open

NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams had little trouble with Maria Sharapova as the two rivals kicked off the night session at the U.S. Open.  The eighth-seeded Williams rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 rout that gives her 19 straight wins over Sharapova. Williams took control by winning the final five games of a 24-minute opening set, then the first two of the second set.  Sharapova has dropped 20 of their 22 meetings and hasn’t beaten Williams since a pair of victories in 2004, including Wimbledon. Men’s top seed Novak Djokovic has breezed into the second round, but it took a while for women’s No. 2 Ash Barty to get going. Djokovic is 34-1 in his last 35 Grand Slam matches following a 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 win over Spaniard Roberto Carballes on opening day at Flushing Meadows. The 34-year-old Djokovic is seeking his fourth U.S. Open title, his 17th major championship and third Grand Slam crown this year.  Barty amassed 36 unforced errors and got less than half her first serves in before walking off the court with a 1-6, 6-3-6-2 victory. The reigning French Open champ rallied after dropping the opening set in 28 minutes.  Women’s third seed Karolina Pliskova also struggled in her opener, overcoming 32 unforced errors for a 7-6, 7-6 win.  Roger Federer dropped his opening set against a qualifier ranked 190th before coming back to eliminate Sumit Nagal of India, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.  American Reilly Opelka pulled off an upset of men’s 11th seed Fabio Fognini, and women’s No. 14 Angelique Kerber was knocked out by Kristina Mladenovic.