Kvitova, Ivanovic sail

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia plays a forehand return to Anna Tatishvili of Georgia during their US Open match at Flushing Meadows yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

Grand Slam winners Petra Kvitova and Ana Ivanovic advanced to the second round of the US Open on Tuesday while Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic awaited their openers at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Czech seventh seed Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, fought off Japan's tenacious 92nd-ranked Misaki Doi 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 and Serbian 13th seed Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open winner, dispatched Georgia's Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-0.
On the men's side, Canadian 10th seed Milos Raonic fired 28 aces in beating Italy's Thomas Fabbiano 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, to book a second-round date with Spain's Pablo Andujar, who dumped Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
On Monday, US Open favourites Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, with 28 Grand Slam titles between them, cruised into the second round.
Nadal, the second-seeded 2010 champion who watched the 2012 US Open from his home in Spain as he endured a seven-month injury layoff, cruised to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over America's Ryan Harrison to record a 16th win on hard courts this year.
The 27-year-old Spaniard has captured nine trophies since his return from injury in February, building up a 54-3 record in the process, and came into New York having won back-to-back Masters titles at Montreal and Cincinnati, comfortably erasing his shock first-round exit at Wimbledon.
Defending women's champion Serena Williams, a four-time winner, needed just an hour to see off Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone, 6-0, 6-1.
The top seed fired 13 winners and broke the former French Open champion six times on her way to a second round match-up against Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva.
Venus Williams, the back-to-back champion in 2000 and 2001 and the oldest woman left in the draw at 33, started her 15th US Open with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Belgian 12th seed Kirsten Flipkens, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon.
Williams, now ranked 60th in the world, next faces China's Zheng Jie after avenging a loss to Flipkens at Toronto earlier this month.
Federer, the former five-time champion and seeded a lowly seventh this year, was due to take on Slovenia's Grega Zemjla in the closing match on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
But heavy late evening rain meant the Swiss star, still bruised by his second round loss at Wimbledon -- his worst All England defeat in a decade -- will have to try again on Tuesday.