Defending champion Angelique Kerber battled her nerves and blew a match point in the second set before finally overcoming Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the second round.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams face challenging early tests at the US Open following Friday's draws for the year's last Grand Slam starting on Monday.
Rafael Nadal was cautious about predicting how his body would hold up in the run-in to the US Open on Wednesday but did reveal that he had not missed the grind of the tennis tour during his absence from the game.
Roger Federer booked his place in the ATP World Tour Finals for a record-tying 12th consecutive year when he dismissed South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men's draw which includes five-times US Open champion and 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer as seventh seed - his first time the Swiss has been placed outside the top three in a Grand Slam in over ten years.
Top seed Novak Djokovic has been starved of competitive action at the US Open but on Sunday the World No 1 feasted on unseeded Briton Kyle Edmund in a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 romp that put him into the quarter-finals.
The All England Club's medical rooms were overflowing as the third day of Wimbledon resembled a casualty ward with Rafa Nadal's conqueror Steve Darcis one of five players to withdraw injured before mid-afternoon on Wednesday.
Wimbledon's genteel surrounds resembled Saturday night on a casualty ward as injuries saw seven players withdraw or retire and third seed Maria Sharapova stumble to a shock second-round defeat on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Rafael Nadal showed he is healthy and ready to challenge for a third US Open title as he rolled into the last 16 at Flushing Meadows on Friday with a fist-pumping 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.
Photos from Day 5 action at the Western & Southern Open at Cincinnati on Thursday.
It was a day of surprises at Flushing Meadows in New York as seeded players were knocked out one after the other on Friday.
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