Rafael Nadal participates at the Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK — A long list of returns highlights Day 1 at the U.S. Open as the year’s last Grand Slam tennis tournament gets started.
The schedule Monday includes Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka — all past champions at Flushing Meadows who missed last year’s U.S. Open.
In addition, defending champions Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens are slated to play.
Williams will face Magda Linette in Arthur Ashe Stadium to start the night session, followed by Nadal against David Ferrer in a rematch of the 2013 French Open final.
No. 1-ranked Simona Halep takes on Kaia Kanepi in the first match ever played in the reconstructed Louis Armstrong Stadium, which now features a retractable roof.