Novak Djokovic had hoped to have the crowd behind him as he began his bid to win the US Open and complete the calendar-year Grand Slam, but the Serb said that the atmosphere was “not ideal” as Flushing Meadows fans cheered on his underdog opponent.
Djokovic, looking to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Grand Slams in the same year, beat Holger Rune 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the second round after the 18-year-old Danish qualifier ran himself into the ground against the world No. 1.
Fans chanted “Rune” throughout and applauded the young Dane’s bravery as he played on, despite being hampered by a cramp.
Photo: AFP
After wrapping up the victory, Djokovic did not deliver his customary post-match celebration — sharing his heart with all four sides of the court — and he later said he thought that the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd had been booing him.
“I didn’t know what they were chanting honestly. I thought they were booing,” Djokovic said at a news conference. “I don’t know, it was not ideal atmosphere for me ... but I’ve been in these particular atmospheres before, so I knew how to handle it.”
“It’s the largest stadium in sport. Definitely the loudest and the most entertaining stadium we have in our sport... Obviously, you always wish to have the crowd behind you, but it’s not always possible,” Djokovic added. “That’s all I can say.”
A three-time US Open champion, Djokovic was playing his first match at Flushing Meadows since his disqualification from last year’s tournament, when he inadvertently hit a line judge with the tennis ball in his fourth round.
A fourth US Open trophy would take him ahead of his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam count, with the trio all on 20 titles.
“There are things that you can always rely on, go back to when you are experiencing a little bit of a turbulence in terms of emotions on the court or off the court,” Djokovic said. “When it gets too much, then I’ve developed a mechanism where I feel like I can mentally handle that.”
“I do have a formula for many years that has worked well for me, that got me to where I am,” he said. “At the same time, it’s not necessarily a guarantee that it will work every single time.”
TAIWAN
In women’s singles on Tuesday, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei eased passed Claire Liu of the US 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
Today, Hsieh faces Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, who beat the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova 6-2, 6-7 (7) in her opening match.
Yesterday, the duo of Hsieh and Germany’s Elise Mertens faced Anna Kalinskaya of Russia and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
Additional reporting by staff writer
‘EVERYONE SAW’: The visitors were left fuming after Jules Kounde was fouled by Claudio Echeverri in the buildup to the winning goal and it went unpunished Spanish champions Barcelona on Monday fell to a damaging 2-1 defeat at Girona to leave them trailing Real Madrid by two points at the top of La Liga. Los Blancos beat Real Sociedad on Saturday to overtake the Catalans and Hansi Flick’s side could not defeat Girona in an gripping derby clash to reclaim the lead. Teenage star Lamine Yamal missed a penalty for Barcelona, who took the lead through defender Pau Cubarsi just before the hour mark. However, goals from Thomas Lemar and Fran Beltran helped Girona, 12th, mount an impressive comeback. “In the end Girona deserved it, they had a lot of
A dominant Cade Cunningham on Thursday scored 42 points as the NBA-leading Detroit Pistons swatted aside the New York Knicks 126-111 on the NBA’s return from its brief All-Star Game break. Billed as a must-watch clash between two Eastern Conference rivals each in red-hot form, the game at Madison Square Garden became an exhibition for Cunningham, who also provided 13 assists and eight rebounds. The 24-year-old burnished his credentials as a Most Valuable Player contender, helping a young, surprise-package Pistons side to improve the best record in the entire NBA this season so far, to 41-13. After the game, Cunningham said that he
Amanda Anisimova on Monday was handed a walkover into the last 16 of the Dubai Open after her opponent Barbora Krejcikova was forced to withdraw from the WTA 1000 event. The American second seed enters the round-of-16 against Janice Tjen without swinging a racket as two-time Grand Slam winner Krejcikova pulled out due to an issue with her left thigh. They became the seventh and eighth players to pull out, a list that includes the world top two Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. Tjen booked her meeting with Anisimova thanks to a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win in her round-of-32 match against 2021 US
Amanda Anisimova on Thursday ended a tearful Mirra Andreeva’s Dubai title defense with a comeback 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) victory in the quarter-finals. The second-seeded American trailed fifth seed Andreeva by a set and a break before rallying to complete a 2 hour, 38 minute win. She booked a place in the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 event for the fourth time in her career. “I was almost in tears there at the end,” Anisimova said. “It made me emotional seeing her like that. I feel we both won today.” Anisimova was to face fellow American Jessica Pegula, who beat Denmark’s Clara Tauson 6-3,
RSS