New York (AFP) – Novak Djokovic fears his lack of physical conditioning may come back to haunt him as he chases a record 25th Grand Slam singles title at the US Open. The 38-year-old Serbian superstar made a winning start to his latest tilt at glory on Sunday, defeating US teenager Learner Tien 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in 2hr 25min on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
But Djokovic, who needed a lengthy medical timeout to treat a blister on his right foot between the second and third sets, admitted afterwards he was worried by a sudden loss of stamina during the second set. “I started great — just over 20 minutes, first set, I felt really good,” Djokovic said. “Then some long games to start the second set…I really was surprised how bad I was feeling in the second physically. We had long exchanges, but also, I kind of dropped my level and made a lot of unforced errors and kind of got him back into the match.”
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“There are positives but also things that hopefully won’t happen in terms of how I felt on the court physically in the second set. It’s slightly a concern. I don’t know. I don’t have any injury or anything. I just struggled a lot to stay in long exchanges and recover after points.”
– ‘Still have the drive’ –
Djokovic has not played since his defeat in the semi-finals at Wimbledon last month, skipping ATP Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati to focus all his energy on the US Open. While there were a few signs of rustiness at times on Sunday, Djokovic also laced his performance with flashes of the brilliance that has been his calling card throughout a glittering career.
Djokovic looked to be a man in a hurry in a scorching start, rattling off winners to take the first set 6-1. Tien was given hope in a laboured second set from Djokovic, but the 19-year-old American could not convert a break point that would have made it one set all. Instead, Djokovic held serve to make it 5-5 in the second set and reasserted himself to claim the second-set tie break, attacking the net cleverly and using some sublime variation to pull Tien all over the court.
Djokovic paused for a medical timeout for treatment to his right foot before the third set got under way. The rest appeared to give Djokovic a jolt of energy and he sprinted into a 5-1 lead to leave Tien reeling. Tien did well to save a match point on Djokovic’s serve before breaking for 5-2. But the respite was short-lived as Djokovic again responded emphatically, breaking back immediately to wrap up victory.
“I wish I had Learner Tien’s age — when you come to the late 30s it’s about learning how to preserve the energy for what matters,” Djokovic said. “I still have the flair, I still have the drive, and you guys give me the energy. Hopefully I can keep it going,” he told the crowd. Djokovic will face US qualifier Zachary Svajda in the second round.
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