Isner, Venus Pace U.S. on Day 1 of the 2017 US Open

While the sweltering temperatures of late summer were absent in Queens on Monday, the action on the hard courts in Flushing was heating up at the US Open.  

Day 1 of the US Open saw seven Americans advance to Round 2, inlcuding top-ranked American woman Venus Williams and top-ranked American man John Isner. 

In the sole all-American matchup on Monday, wild-card recipient Sofia Kenin topped compatriot and No. 32 seed Lauren Davis, 7-5, 7-5. Kenin, currently ranked No. 139 in the world, earned her US Open berth by winning the US Open Wild Card Challenge for the second straight year. This will be the third year in a row Kenin has competed in the main draw; she also claimed a wild card by winning the USTA Girls' 18 National Championships in 2015, making her Grand Slam debut that year in New York.

Other U.S. women to advance to Round 2 included Williams, who topped Slovakian qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in Arthur Ashe. The 37-year-old is experiencing a grand resurgence this year, having made it to the finals at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. This season she is the only woman to appear in two Grand Slam finals, and is looking to make it to her third at the Open. 

Sloane Stephens, who recently returned from an 11-month hiatus due to a foot injury and related surgery, continued her banner summer season, defeating 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci, 7-5, 6-1, in her first-round match.

Twenty-two-year-old Sachia Vickery also secured her place into Round 2, toppling Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. The Florida native bounced-back from dropping the first set and won 75 percent of the points on her first serve.

In men’s action, Steve Johnson crushed 30 winners to defeat former Top 10 player Nicolas Almagro, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. This win for Johnson is bittersweet, as the California native lost his father, Steve Johnson Sr., earlier this year. It was his first match back in New York without his father present. 

No. 10 seed John Isner had to put up a bit of a fight to make it to the second round. It took the North Carolina native four sets to secure his ticket to the second round against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, beating the Frenchman, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. 

In other men's action, No. 17 seed Sam Querrey made light work of Frenchman Gilles Simon, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. 

Jared Donaldson, one of the most promising young American players, defeated Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6. 

American action will continue on Day 2, when 23 Americans will take to their home-turf courts. 

Matches to check out include marquee night matches No. 15 seed Madison Keys versus Elise Mertens, and American young gun Frances Tiafoe will face five-time US Open champion and No. 3 seed Roger Federer. 

In addition, there will be two All-American matchups, including Alison Riske squaring up against CoCo Vandeweghe and Shelby Rogers will go toe-to-toe with Kayla Day.