Flushed at Flushing Meadows
Danielle Collins of the United States reacts in her match against Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit. Collins lost 7-5, 2-6, 2-6.
Novak Djokovic showed a bit more passion than might have been expected in his 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 first-round win over Damir Dzumhur but the world number one brushed aside any question that he was feeling the pressure as overwhelming US Open favourite.
The Serbian lost his way a bit in the second set but rallied for a straightforward victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium that extended his extraordinary winning streak to 24 matches this year.
The absence of fans because of the coronavirus pandemic perhaps exaggerated his testy exchange with the umpire, the angry roar he emitted after sealing the second set, and a bit of back-and-forth with his box.
For Djokovic, though, it was just all part of his make-up as a 17-time Grand Slam champion.
“You care about winning a tennis match, obviously you’re a professional,” the top seed said on court after setting up a second-round meeting with Briton Kyle Edmund.
“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here. This is how I play, I play with a lot of intensity and try to bring a lot of energy to the court.”
In the absence of the two other men vying for the title of the greatest male player of the modern era, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, Djokovic is an odds-on favourite to win a fourth US Open crown.
That, combined with maintaining the prospect that he might go through the year unbeaten, could weigh on a player with less mental strength.
“I know pressure is a privilege, and that pressure and winning are part of what we do,” Djokovic added in a news conference.
“I try to embrace it. I know what I need to
do and how to behave, how to make myself calm and composed and focused on what really needs to be done.”
Djokovic admitting to resorting to cliche when he said he would be taking each match as it came at Flushing Meadows but eschewed the usual sporting trope about ignoring statistics when asked about the winning streak.
“Do I want to keep the streak going? Of course, I do,” he said. “Am I thinking about it as a priority number one every single day? No.
“It’s there, and it’s an additional motivation for me. It actually fuels me to play even stronger, play even better, I think bring the right intensity every match.”
In the women’s singles, fourth seed Naomi Osaka advanced to the second round on
Monday but was made to work hard during a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Japanese compatriot Misaki Doi at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Osaka, who withdrew from the Western & Southern Open WTA final on Saturday due to a hamstring injury, showed little sign of a fitness problem after wrapping up the first set in just over half an hour.
But the 22-year-old 2018 US Open champion’s composure deserted her in the second set, as a string of unforced errors crept into her game and allowed Doi to seize the initiative.
Osaka raised her game noticeably in the third set, cutting down the errors and putting Doi under pressure on her service.
Two breaks helped Osaka into a 5-2 lead and she held serve to close out the win.— Reuters