Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka sent defending champion Angelique Kerber crashing out of the US Open first round on Tuesday, bringing a rare bright spot to a rain-lashed day at Flushing Meadows.
As players ran for cover off the outside courts, Osaka's big-hitting game and love of the big occasion thrived under the roof of the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
The world No 46, born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother, won 6-3, 6-1 as sixth seed Kerber became the first US Open women's defending champion to lose in the first round since Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2005.
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Osaka, who surrendered a 5-1 third set lead on the same court in losing to Madison Keys 12 months ago, fired 22 winners as Kerber went tumbling out of the world's top 10 as well as the tournament.
"At 4-1, I was hoping I don't do what I did last year," said the 19-year-old Osaka, who conceded suffering a brief flashback to her tearful loss to Keys.
"So that helped me focus and concentrate, which I needed as Angelique gets everything back."
Osaka will face either Sweden's Rebecca Peterson or Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic for a place in the last 32.
"I just want to play good. I did that today and so I want to carry that into the next match," added the Japanese teenager, who secured her first career win over a top-10 player.
Kerber is the third top seed to go out in the first round after No 2 Simona Halep and seventh-seeded Johanna Konta lost on Monday.
World No 1 Karolina Pliskova, bidding to back up her lofty status with a first grand slam title, also made a winning start.
Czech 25-year-old Pliskova, the runner-up in 2016, eased past Poland's Magda Linette 6-2, 6-1 on the back of eight aces and 29 winners.
"I felt a little bit nervous walking on this court, especially after last year and the memories I have here," said Pliskova, whose progression to the second round was only briefly halted by the roof on Arthur Ashe stadium being closed.
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Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
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5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Gurm, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Al Nafece, Al Muatasm Al Balushi, Mohammed Ramadan
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7pm: Liwa Oasis – Group 2 (PA) 300,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Hakeemat Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
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Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
