Pliskova happy with quick progress as rain blights US Open
Karolina Pliskova was pleased to make swift progress to round two of the US Open on Tuesday, as many other players were kept waiting by rain at Flushing Meadows.
Inclement weather arrived midway through Pliskova's first-round match with Magda Linette, but play was able to continue at Arthur Ashe Stadium after the roof was closed.
The top seed in the women's draw duly completed a 6-2 6-1 victory, before expressing satisfaction at a short day's work with a suspension in effect on the outside courts.
Every match not on Ashe, with the exception of Jelena Ostapenko's interrupted contest with Lara Arruabarrena, was duly postponed for the day.
All matches outside of Ashe have been cancelled for Tuesday, but play will continue in Ashe as scheduled. https://t.co/FBftiDM0ko #USOpen pic.twitter.com/2tg2KJ6Enh
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2017
"It's a really big help, I would say, the roof at least on the centre court so they can still finish up some matches," said Pliskova. "Especially as I have not been really lucky with the weather for my last two tournaments, Toronto and Cincinnati.
"I'm just happy that I got the match done quickly and don't have to wait, because the weather is not looking great today.
"It's always a big help if you can leave fast."
Pliskova's number-one ranking is under threat from several players in New York, particularly with the Czech having plenty of points to defend after reaching last year's final.
Simona Halep's hopes of taking top spot disappeared when she lost to Maria Sharapova on Monday, but Pliskova knows she still has a battle on her hands.
"It's not something that I want to think about on the court," she added.
"Maybe off the court, obviously, I would like to stay there as long as I can, but I don't want to stress myself because of this. I believe if I play good tennis, I have a good chance to stay there.
"Obviously, there is so many players now coming closer to me. I know Simona is out, unfortunate for her, but there are still seven or six in the draw, so I will have to go far."