Novak Djokovic kicked off his US Open campaign with a strong performance. In the first round, he defeated American Learner Tien (ATP #50) in straight sets 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 and moved on to the R2.
The seventh seed and four-time US Open champion spent two hours and 25 minutes on court in this opening match.
Novak took control from the very beginning. With only four unforced errors and two solid breaks of serve, he quickly won the first set 6-1 against the 19-year-old up-and-coming home hope, who struggled to find his rhythm and made many mistakes.
The second set was more competitive. Novak missed break chances early on and had to fight off three break points in the sixth game. At 4-5, he even faced a set point but managed to hold on and level the score at 5-5. The tie-break was full of twists – the first six points were all mini-breaks, but Novak then won four points in a row to take the tie-break 7-3 and go up 2-0 in sets.
Even though the Serbian star lost his serve for the first time early in the third set, he quickly regained control and wrapped up the set and match 6-2.
“It was a strange kind of match. The first set was 20 minutes and then the second one was one hour and 20, so quite the opposite sets we played,” Djokovic said. “It was key for me to hold my nerves in the second set and clinch it in a tie-break. After that I started feeling better. I can always do better but it’s a great way to start this year’s campaign.”
Match statistics: aces (7-1), double faults (4-7), winners (26-18), unforced errors (34-36), total points won (108-75).
Next up for Novak is another American, qualifier Zachary Svajda (ATP #145), who defeated Hungarian Zsombor Piros (6-4, 6-2, 7-5).
Photo: Profimedia
