World no.1 Novak Djokovic improved his record to 6-1 against Paul-Henri Mathieu on Thursday, beating the no.81-ranked Frenchman 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 for a place in the US Open third round.
Nole was on top of his game on Arthur Ashe Stadium court despite the windy conditions. He won 88% of his first service points and broke seven times from 12 opportunities for victory in one hour and 28 minutes.
“I wanted to get my job done as quick as possible,” said Djokovic. “I don’t feel like I need to play long matches to get into the groove. I feel that I’m hitting the ball very well. The second match was even better than the first one. Under the circumstances, I think I came up with a very good performance. I stayed mentally tough and I did not allow myself to get frustrated because of the wind and conditions that were obviously very tough for both of us.”
Match statistics: aces (13-2), double faults (0-9), winners (33-16), unforced errors (16-31), total points won (88-46).
Novak will next meet world no.57 Sam Querrey who defeated 28th-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets earlier in the day.
The 2011 champion has won 7-of-8 matches against the American, who hasn’t beaten the Serb since the 2012 Masters series event in Paris.
Looking ahead to the Saturday clash, Novak said, “Sam is playing in front of his crowd. I’m sure he’s going to have some good support. But on the other hand, if we get to play on center court maybe in a night session, that’s where my experience kicks in. If he serves well he’s very dangerous. I saw a little bit of his match today and he played great. He’s in good form, good shape, and has nothing to lose. It’s going to be a tough one.”
Djokovic is now 41-6 on the season and 47-8 in his career at the US Open.
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