Djokovic, who hasn’t received a Grand Slam title in two years, was removed from his finest in opposition to Learner Tien within the opening spherical at Flushing Meadows.
Novak Djokovic delivered a lesson in Grand Slam tenacity to Learner Tien within the first spherical of the US Open, as he battled previous the American teenager 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2 and launched his newest quest for a document twenty fifth main title.
Competing in his first singles match since reaching the Wimbledon semifinals final month, and swapping the whites for a modern all-black outfit, the 38-year-old Serb fought by means of bodily points on Sunday to safe his eightieth win at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Victory additionally meant Djokovic turned the primary participant for the reason that sport turned skilled in 1968 to win 75 straight opening-round matches on the Grand Slams, with 55 of these wins coming in straight units.
“It was a wierd sort of match,” mentioned Djokovic, who seemed to be combating an harm halfway by means of the match.
“The primary set was 20 minutes, after which the second was one hour and 20, fairly the alternative units we performed. It was key for me to carry my nerve within the second set and clinch it in a tie-break.
“After that, I began feeling higher. I can all the time do higher, nevertheless it’s an effective way to start out this yr’s marketing campaign.”
The seventh seed shrugged off a time violation to consolidate an early break in the beginning of the competition, and a heated debate with the chair umpire shortly afterwards spurred him on to wrap up the opening set in double-quick time.
The 19-year-old Tien, on a near-impossible mission at hand Djokovic his first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam for the reason that 2006 Australian Open, had his possibilities to attract stage throughout a draining second set however crumbled within the tie-break.
After therapy for a proper foot blister, Djokovic produced heavy groundstrokes from the baseline to interrupt for a 3-1 lead within the third set. The four-time New York champion by no means seemed again from there, reserving a match-up with American Zachary Svajda.
“Good factor is that I’ve two days off. It’s barely a priority. I don’t have an harm or something. I simply struggled to remain in lengthy exchanges and get better after factors,” Djokovic mentioned.
Djokovic has not received a Grand Slam title for the reason that 2023 US Open.
