Novak Djokovic of Serbia (right) greets Jerzy Janowicz of Poland after their 2016 US Open Men’s Singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2016 in NY.
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Roberta Vinci, of Italy, reacts after defeating Anna-Lena Friedsam, of Germany, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, in NY.
Novak Djokovic made it through to the second round after beating Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
Asked about his health during an on-court interview, Djokovic deflected the question, saying, “I don’t think it’s necessary to talk about this now”.
“There were a lot of positives I took from my Serena match”, said McHale, 24, of Englewood Cliffs. “You just have to make the best of every single opportunity”.
During the match, Djokovic hit first serves around 160km/h, sometimes slower – 40km/h or so below what’s normal for him.
The Serb looked in clear discomfort throughout the game and his serve was remarkably low, and in the end it was no surprise when his opponent took the second set. He flexed that right arm, the one he has used to wield a racket on the way to 12 Grand Slam titles, and appeared generally unhappy.
Djokovic’s coach, Boris Becker, gnawed on his fingernails, looking nervous as can be.
Elsewhere on Monday, John Isner won an epic all-American clash with the talented 18-year-old Frances Tiafoe.
Since Christina McHale won a first-set tiebreaker against her idol Serena Williams at Wimbledon last month, she’s played three tournaments and World Team Tennis to prepare for the U.S. Open.
After a sizzling start to the season that brought grand slam wins No.11 and 12 at the Australian and French Opens, Djokovic’s form has plummeted, with a third-round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon followed by a first-round exit at the Rio Olympics.
The player who beat Williams in the first round at the Olympics, Kirsten Flipkens, gets another chance to upset a top-10 opponent when she meets fifth-seeded Simona Halep. Raonic, of Thornhill, Ont., fired 15 aces to Brown’s two and totalled 41 winners en route to the 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory. “The U.S. Open is the most entertaining grand slam”.
Nadal, the 2010 and 2013 champion and seeded to face Djokovic in the semi-finals, eased to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.
The stakes and atmosphere were rather different from her previous two appearances in the tournament’s main arena, which now features a retractable roof that provides extra shade even while open, as it was Monday, with the sky blue and the temperature at 90 degrees.
The good news for Nadal, he said afterward, is that the pain is gone from his wrist, which whips those violent, topspin-heavy forehands that are the key to his success _ 14 of his 21 winners came off that wing.
McHale played almost every day for two weeks in early August for the New York Empire in the World Team Tennis league co-founded by Billie Jean King. “I need confidence and I need to keep practicing the forehand”, – Nadal growing in confidence as he continues recovering from a wrist injury.
Both Nadal and his coach, Uncle Toni, described the way Rafael changed the way he hits a forehand during the Rio Games to try to avoid pain.
Andy Murray winning the US Open could prove a turning point in his rivalry with Novak Djokovic, says former British number one Greg Rusedski. “Look, each day presents us some kind of challenges that we need to accept and overcome”.
Istomin, ranked 107th, was not likely to give Nadal much of a test. I played her I think in the semis before.
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“For the first set, I was feeling that he was not hitting hard”, Istomin said.
