It was another sun-drenched day in New York as the balance of first-round matches were played.

Serena Fast Out of the Gate

Any concerns about Serena Williams’ injured shoulder appeared to be quickly answered in Arthur Ashe Stadium as she eliminated Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-3.

Many considered the Russian to be a potentially tough first-round test for the American and Serena acknowledged it as well, motivating her to jump out to a fast start. It was a dominant serving day for Williams who fired 12 aces and won 90 percent of her first serve points.

The big hitting Makarova could only muster 10 winners in the two sets of play and was never allowed into the match.

Asked about the status of her shoulder in an on-court interview afterward, Serena immediately deflected the topic, “I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see, I haven't been able to play that much since Wimbledon,” she said. “Every day I'll just see how it goes.”

Williams will continue the pursuit of her 23rd grand slam title on Thursday against American Vania King.

Murray Moves On

It was a workmanlike effort by 2nd seeded Andy Murray who cruised past Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the last match of the day.

Murray showed no ill-effects from his Cincinnati Masters final loss, playing much more like the competitor who brought home gold from Rio and a Wimbledon title this summer. Playing against a player who has a knack for getting under the skin of opponents, Murray simply executed his game plan and received little opposition in a match that lasted just under 2 hours.

The Brit benefited from a strong serving night where he won 83 percent of his first serves and did not allow any break opportunities for Rosol.

Next up for Murray is a second-round meeting with Marcel Granollers.

Halep Breezes into Second Round

Fifth-seeded Simona Halep barely worked up a sweat in an impressive 6-0, 6-2 win against Kirsten Flipkens on Tuesday.

Halep’s game was hitting on all cylinders as the Belgian had no answers in the match played at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The contest appeared to be heading to a double bagel but a late break of serve by Flipkens prevented the clean sheet.

The Romanian served efficiently in the match that lasted just over one hour.

Nishikori Through to the Next Round

Kei Nishikori moved on to the second round after a 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Benjamin Becker on the Grandstand court. The 6-seed ripped 47 winners and forced the veteran into 43 unforced errors using his quickness to his advantage. The Japan native mixed in some quality net play, winning 16 of 22 advances.

Despite rolling in the first two sets, Nishikori found himself in a battle in the third set as the 35-year old refused to go without a challenge. “He started playing much better so it was tough third and fourth sets but luckily I got out of the last two games,” said Nishikori.

The former finalist praised the enthusiastic New York crowd afterward, “It was a great feeling of course,” Nishikori said. “I have great memories here and I always love coming back to New York.”

Nishikori will face qualifier Karen Khachanov in the next round.

Wawrinka Rolls

It was just another day at the office for Stan Wawrinka who dispatched Fernando Verdasco 7-6(4) 6-4 6-4 on Tuesday.

It was the Swiss’ forceful groundstrokes that allowed him to control play during the match that lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes. He fought off all four Verdasco break opportunities, as well. The 2-time grand slam champion was pleased afterward, “I'm really happy. I think it was a great match, especially for the first round,” Wawrinka told reporters. “You never expect to play your best game and (be) full of confidence, but I think the level was quite high.”