It’s all good. To be honest, I take it day by day.
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As for the treatment he received on his arm, Djokovic said: “It was just prevention”.
Several times during the two hour, 37 minute match, Djokovic could be seen grimacing when hitting his powerful forehand, while his serve rarely looked threatening, stuck at around 100 mph. One observation stood out from 2014: “M. Cilic is hitting ridiculously fast serves with Ivanisevic watching”. He flexed that right arm, the one he has used to wield a racquet on the way to his 12 grand slam titles, and appeared generally unhappy.
Djokovic practiced on Ashe on Sunday evening, with coach Boris Becker observing, and seemed to be hitting backhands without a hitch.
– So much excitement swirled around Day 1 of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. 18-year-olds Taylor Fritz and Fraces Tiafoe both went the distance but fell short against their elder countrymen.
More, too: A first-round loss by Rio Olympics gold medallist Monica Puig, and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza’s complaints about having trouble breathing after dropping the first set of a match she would go on to win in three.
Djokovic, a 12-time grand slam victor, took a medical timeout midway through the first set to receive treatment on his right arm.
Djokovic suffered a wrist injury before the Rio Olympics, which he left in tears after losing to Juan Martin del Potro in the first round, and was then forced to pull out of the Cincinnati Masters.
Gasquet was breathing hard from the middle stages of the match, but he said there was no residual pain from the back injury that cut him down at Wimbledon. “Look, each day presents us some kind of challenges that we need to overcome, accept and overcome”. He had lost his past 20 matches against top-10 opponents.
Rafael Nadal has won his first round match in straight sets despite a limited preparation.
Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic, the 2014 champion and victor in Cincinnati last week, eased past Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-4, 7-5, 6-1.
Former US Open champion Marin Cilic began his campaign with a 6-4 7-5 6-1 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil on Monday.
The match was played at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the new $150 million retractable roof remained open under a blue sky, but still offered some extra shade on a day when the temperature reached 90 degrees.
The bad news for Nadal?
Nadal said he is re-energized being in NY after feeling tired two weeks ago in Cincinnati, where he lost his second match after flying in from Rio. “I need confidence and I need to keep practicing the forehand”. That’s very important thing for me.
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So what did he think of Nadal’s play Monday? “I’ve had a long summer as well”, he said. “A lot of short balls”.
