Safina survives scare to advance to second round

TOP seed Dinara Safina survived a huge scare to beat Australian world number 167 Olivia Rogowska 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 and reach the US Open second round.

Safina had four set points in the first set but lost it in a tie-break. She hit back to take the second set but struggled with her serve in the decider and had to dig deep to clinch victory

Fifth seed Jelena Jankovic overcame an erratic start to clinch an opening victory over unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci. The Serbian, beaten in last year’s final by Serena Williams when seeded second, needed just 63 minutes to win her first-round match 6-2 6-3.