Until Sunday, Emma Raducanu had failed to win a match at Flushing Meadows since she lifted the US Open women's single title in 2021.
This year, Raducanu has insisted that the venue is her "happy place," and she got her tournament off to a promising start by easing past Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara in straight sets.
The win is the latest bright point in what is the some of the best tennis of Raducanu's career to date, using her consistent results and injury-free health to climb back towards the world's top 30.
"Of course, I'm very, very pleased," Raducanu said, noting that it had been a while since she came out on the right side of a score in New York, "so it's extra special."
On a partly cloudy and breezy morning, Raducanu came out strong in the day's first match at Louis Armstrong Stadium, needing just 40 minutes to lead by a set and two breaks at 3-0 in the second.
With her new coach, Francisco Roig, who worked with 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal for many years, sitting near a corner of the court and constantly offering positive reinforcement, Raducanu's groundstrokes frequently rushed Shibahara, a qualifier from Japan who is ranked 128th.
"Vamos!" Roig said at one point. "You're doing very good."
Shibahara hadn't dropped a set through her three qualifying wins -- and Raducanu knows better than anyone what sort of momentum can be gained from that sort of prelude to the main draw. Raducanu is the only tennis player to win a Grand Slam title after needing to go through qualifying to earn a spot in the tournament bracket.
Since that life-altering triumph, though, things haven't gone to plan for Raducanu. In 2022, she became only the third reigning women's champion in the professional era to lose in the first round a year later, after Svetlana Kuznetsova and Angelique Kerber.
And then came several injury issues.
Raducanu is healthy now, and she showed what she can do when at her best against an overmatched opponent.
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She faced only one break point -- and saved it.
She made only six unforced errors -- and made headway by allowing Shibahara to finish with 36.
"Managed myself, managed my game, during that match," Raducanu said. "I see the progress I'm making on the practice court."
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.