By US Open 2025
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 24 August-7 September
Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website & app.
Novak Djokovic hopes the “physical struggle” he faced before powering to victory in the US Open first round was simply down to a lack of match practice, The 38-year-old Serb, who earned a 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 win over American teenager Learner Tien, had not played since losing in the Wimbledon semi-finals in early July, During the second set Djokovic’s level dropped considerably as he looked increasingly flustered and unsteady on his feet in a humid New York.
The 24-time major champion needed treatment for blisters on his toe after securing the second-set tie-break, but said the issue was not the reason behind his dip.
“I don’t have any injury or anything. I just struggled a lot to stay in long exchanges and recover after points,” said Djokovic, who is seeded seventh.
“I haven’t played an official match in six weeks. I had to deliver my A-game, which I think I did in the first set.
“In the second, particularly, it was surviving on the court. In the important moments I just put one ball more in the court than he did.”
As Djokovic heads towards retirement, he has continued to scale back his schedule, The former number one’s focus has been increasingly centred on the Grand Slam tournaments as he aims to land a standalone record 25th major title.
Djokovic skipped the ATP Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati leading up to the US Open, In his pre-tournament news conference, Djokovic made a frank admission that he does not “enjoy” the elongated format of the Masters tournaments, which have been stretched to two weeks over recent season, But when it comes to the biggest prizes, his appetite to win Grand Slam tournaments remains undimmed.
Beating the precociously-talented Tien, who is ranked 50th in the world, was Djokovic’s 75th consecutive first-round win at a Grand Slam event – the first singles player to achieve the feat in the Open era to achieve the feat.
“I wish I had Learner’s age – but when you come to the late 30s it’s about learning how to preserve the energy for what matters,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.
I still have the flair, I still have the drive, and you guys give me the energy. Hopefully I can keep it going.
Mensik advances on opening day
in Another News, Teenage sensation Jakub Mensik had to work hard for a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-4 victory over Chile’s Nicolas Jarry as play got under way on Sunday, Mensik, seeded 16th, won his first ATP Tour title back in March, beating Djokovic in the Miami Open final, and has twice reached the third round in New York.
The 19-year-old Czech will face Ugo Blanchet next after the French qualifier beat Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-4 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2.
Elsewhere, Spanish 18th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina needed only 89 minutes to beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-1 6-1 6-2.
Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor was the only men’s seed to fall on the opening day, losing 7-5 6-4 6-0 to French veteran Adrian Mannarino.
