Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is the defending champion of the US Open.
Photo: EFE – CJ GUNTHER
The favorites Novak Djokovic, who triumphed in another heated duel with compatriot Laslo Djere, Coco Gauff, and Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the second round of the US Open on Wednesday in a day impacted by the sweltering heat in New York.
Although he appeared in the last night session, Djokovic also felt the intense humidity and high temperatures in a match that ended in his favor with Djere’s retirement in the third set.
The Balkan giant, defending his title, was leading 6-4, 6-4, and 2-0 when Djere (ranked 109th by the ATP) withdrew due to physical issues after two hours and 16 minutes of a very close match that Djokovic won due to his success in crucial points.
“He is a great player. The second set should have been his, but losing it placed a heavier burden on him,” commented the Serbian, self-critiquing his serving performance, with eight double faults and only a 47% success rate on his first serve.
On this occasion, Djokovic did not seem at risk, but he was down 2-4 in the second set when he had to call for medical treatment due to stomach issues and appeared to be struggling under the roof of Arthur Ashe’s central court.
Djokovic, who is chasing his 25th Grand Slam title, an absolute record in tennis, gritted his teeth and found the timely break to turn the score around and claim the second set, which Djere, who had just suffered an abdominal issue, ended up conceding.
At 37, Djokovic reached 90 wins at the US Open, breaking his tie with Roger Federer, and now trails only Jimmy Connors with 98 victories. ‘Nole’ is also the first male tennis player to achieve at least 90 wins in all four Grand Slam tournaments.
More stars
Among the group of contenders, Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton had easy passes to the next round, unlike Russian Andrey Rublev, who had to overcome two sets down against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
Norwegian Casper Ruud defeated Frenchman Gaël Monfils in a match interrupted for several hours by rain that fell at night in Flushing Meadows, where temperatures near 35º Celsius had activated rest protocols during the matches.
No way Ruud is crazy, tremendous defense going from side to side. He was a defensive wall despite Monfils exaggerating the situation.
It’s addictive to watch Casper run to reach every ball.pic.twitter.com/QJktDzCen7
— Seba Torres (@sntorres7) August 29, 2024
German Alexander Zverev, ranked fourth in the world, also took down Frenchman Alexandre Muller and will now face Argentine Tomás Etcheverry, who was affected by the weather and even vomited during the final set of his victory against compatriot Francisco Cerúndolo.
The favorites have performed
In the women’s bracket, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who previously won this tournament in 2019 and is currently ranked second in the WTA standings, showed no mercy to Italian Lucia Bronzetti (ranked 76th) and concluded the match in 61 minutes with a score of 6-3 and 6-1.
The Australian Open champion is one of the top favorites for the title alongside Polish Iga Swiatek and defending champion Coco Gauff. The 20-year-old American also had no problems defeating German Tatjana Maria, 37, with a score of 6-4 and 6-0.
In the morning, Spaniard Paula Badosa took another significant step in her sports resurgence by reaching the third round in New York for the first time, the city where she was born. She defeated American Taylor Townsend (ranked 48th) with scores of 6-3 and 7-5, confirming her great form after having fallen to 140th in the world in May.
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