US Open begins under sunny skies

NEW YORK, Aug 30 : The singles main draws got underway at the U.S. Open in good conditions on Sunday, with a record purse of $108 million (£80 million) up for grabs at the year's final major at Flushing Meadows.Dozens of ticketholders were lined up long before Italian Jasmine Paolini kicked off the action at 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT) against Slovenia's Veronika Erjavec at Louis Armstrong Stadium, while Czech Jiri Lehecka faced Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta out at the Grandstand.Highest-ranked American woman Jessica Pegula will play the first match at the showpiece Arthur Ashe Stadium at against Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse. The 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev was due to play in the second match against France's Hugo Gaston.Guests piled into Flushing Meadows under sunny skies with temperatures hov