Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is the reigning US Open champion.
Photo : EFE – CJ GUNTHER
Favourites Novak Djokovic, who emerged victorious from another poisonous duel with his Serbian compatriot Laslo Djere, Coco Gaufff and Aryna Sabalenka overcame the second round of the US Open on Wednesday in a day impacted by the stifling heat of New York.
Although he appeared on stage during last night’s performance, Djokovic also suffered from the high humidity and temperatures in a match that turned in his favour with Djere’s retirement in the third set.
The Balkan giant, the defending champion, won 6-4, 6-4 and 2-0 when Djere (109th in the ATP) retired due to physical problems after two hours and 16 minutes of a very tight match that did not escape him. Djokovic for his success on the key points.
“He’s a great player. The second set should have been his, but losing it put a bigger burden on him,” said the Serb, self-critical of his service performance, with eight double faults and only 47% success on the first serve.
On that occasion, Djokovic was not in danger but was trailing 2-4 in the second set when he had to seek medical attention for stomach problems and was seen choking under the roof of Arthur Ashe Centre Court.
Djokovic, who is chasing his 25th Grand Slam title, an absolute tennis record, gritted his teeth and found the opportune break to turn the situation around and take back the second set, in which Djere, who had just suffered an abdominal accident, ended by throwing in the towel.
Djokovic, 37, reached 90 matches won at the US Open, breaking his tie with Roger Federer and trailing only Jimmy Connors’ 98 wins. “Nole” is also the first male tennis player to win at least 90 matches in all four Grand Slam tournaments.
More protagonists
Among the group of candidates, Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton got comfortable passes to the next phase unlike Russian Andrey Rublev, who had to overcome two sets against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
Norway’s Casper Ruud beat France’s Gael Monfils in a match that was interrupted for several hours by rain overnight at Flushing Meadows, where temperatures near 35º Celsius had triggered rest protocols during matches.
Naaaa Ruud is a crazy, formidable defense that goes from one side to the other. It was a defensive wall beyond which Monfils overcame the situation.
It’s addictive watching Casper run to catch each ball.pic.twitter.com/QJktDzCen7
– Seba Torres (@sntorres7) August 29, 2024
World number four Alexander Zverev of Germany also represented Frenchman Alexandre Muller and will now face Argentinian Tomás Etcheverry, who was affected by the weather and even threw up in the final set of the victory against his compatriot Francisco Cerúndolo.
The favorites have responded
In the women’s competition, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who already won this tournament in 2019 and is currently number two in the WTA rankings, had no mercy on Italian Lucia Bronzetti (76th) and settled the duel in 61 minutes by 6.-3 and 6-1.
The Australian Open champion is among the favourites for the title alongside Poland’s Iga Swiatek and reigning champion Coco Gauff. The 20-year-old American also had no problem beating Germany’s Tatjana Maria, 37, 6-4, 6-0.
In the morning, Spain’s Paula Badosa took another important step in her sporting resurrection by setting foot in the third round for the first time in her hometown of New York. She beat American Taylor Townsend (48th) 6-3, 7-5 and confirmed her great run of form after falling to 140th in the world in May.
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