Novak Djokovic wins the opening match at the Flushing Meadows, but that wasn’t as easy as he hoped.
The former world no.1 was opposed to Marton Fucsovic, but it wasn’t the world no.41 Nole’s biggest problem. In fact, the Serbian had to battle against also a brutal heat for the entire contest.
The match
Nole looked set to have a routine win after he grabbed a fast 4-1 lead that gave him an easy 1st set win (6-3).
Things got sideways soon after as the Serbian lost the second set (3-6) and he was 2-4 in the 3rd set. Fortunately, Nole found the solution to avoid a dramatic marathon, and out of the blue, he won 10 consecutive games to clinch the match in 3 hours. The final score was 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-0
Why Djokovic was struggling
It was hard for the first two-and-a-half to three sets. I think after the third set we started to play a little bit better, at least from my side I started hitting the ball a bit better.
It was survival mode really. Credit to Marton for fighting well. He is a great fighter, and he deserves a round of applause for his performance today.
It was hard for the first two-and-a-half to three sets. I think after the third set we started to play a little bit better, at least from my side I started hitting the ball a bit better.
I was actually praying that the next moment I got to feel better. I wasn’t feeling great for most of the three sets. But you have this kind of days and this kind of matches.
A lot of players struggled today, and you just have to deal with it. It is not easy, but it is what it is, and I’ll take this win, and I want to thank everyone for their support and patience to stay and watch the match until the end.”
Next vs. Sandgren
Nole will face Tenny Sandgren in the 2nd round. The head to head is 1-0 for the Serbian that demolished the world no.61 in the Wimbledon 1st round this year.
TOUGH TO HANDLE!
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