Djokovic: again the first racket in the world! Now Alcaraz will not even save the title at the US Open
Alexander Nasonov Aug 29, 2023 07:52 UTC Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
After the tournament, Novak will lead the ATP ranking and Carlos will drop to second place.
On Monday, August 28, the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the season, began in New York. Novak Djokovic, 23-time Major champion and ATP No. 2, played his match. This game ended on Tuesday morning, Moscow time.
In the past, the Serbian tennis player has won this tournament three times: in 2011, 2015 and 2018. But in recent years, Djokovic has not been successful at the US Open. Thus, in the 2021 season he reached the final, but lost to Daniil Medvedev in three sets: 4: 6, 4: 6, 4: 6. Then Novak, who had previously won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, lost his Calendar helmet. And in 2022, evidently, he was deprived of the possibility of competing for the title. At the time, the United States had strict rules regarding unvaccinated foreigners, and Djokovic’s position on the matter is well known.
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Despite the unfortunate omission, Novak, on the eve of the tournament, dispersed in thanks to the public; in fact, the public is not to blame for anything. “Coming back to the US Open, I am excited because this is the biggest tennis stadium and the most fun and incendiary atmosphere on the circuit. I am very happy to be able to play on the first day of competition. I’m looking forward to this.
It’s been two years since I last played here and I lost to Medvedev in the final after winning four Grand Slams. It didn’t go very well for me that day. But the support I felt from the public, that connection, that love remained forever in my heart. I still get goosebumps from that night two years ago,” the ATP press service quoted the Serb as saying.
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Djokovic’s opponent in the first round turned out to be the nondescript 26-year-old Frenchman Alexander Muller. He has been playing professionally since 2014, but in all this time he has only reached the final of the ATP tournament once. In April of this year, Müller lost on clay in Marrakech (Morocco) against Roberto Carballés-Baena. However, Novak, who had never played this tennis player before, was far from capricious in humor. “You can’t really think about what will happen in three or four days. I’m just thinking about the next day, about your next opponent.
I think it is also disrespectful towards the next opponent if you are already thinking about your last match. Although I have had great success, it could be argued that I could already start thinking about the next stages of the tournament. But this way of thinking never convinced me, ”he said at a press conference before the start of the tournament.
Alexander Muller at the 2023 Winston-Salem tournament
Photo: Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Djokovic, who is aiming for the title, has indeed shown that he is responsible for the preparation of the tournament. In the match against Müller he did not experience major problems and easily demonstrated his superiority. In the first set, the Serb completely hung up the opponent’s “shuttlecock”, spending only 24 minutes on it. For the entire game, Novak gave only eight points: six on someone else’s serve and two on his own. In the second set, Djokovic was so generous that he allowed Muller to break midway through the match. But this did not affect anything, since at that time the Frenchman himself had already managed to throw him twice. After this local failure, the Serb returned to working confidently at reception and then prevailed in the game 6-2 in 37 minutes.
Djokovic slowed down a bit in the third set. The rivals reached the score 3:3 without breaks and even without break points. In the seventh game, the Serb, however, took someone else’s field, soon after he brought the matter to its logical conclusion, scoring the first match point at the reception: 6:0, 6:2, 6:3 in 1 hour. 36. minutes. Novak seriously outplayed his opponent in winners (32 vs 11), though he also committed more unforced errors (23 vs 17).
This is how Djokovic advanced to the second round of the US Open. In this way he managed to return to first place in the ATP ranking: Carlos Alcaraz will drop to second place. This is because Djokovic, who missed the 2022 US Open, does not need to defend any points, while reigning tournament champion Alcaraz defends 2,000 points. Even if the Serb loses in the second round and the Spaniard wins the title again, Novak will have 9,840 points on September 11, when the rankings are updated, and Carlos will have 9,815. Most likely, the gap between them will be even greater. – Djokovic is unlikely to stop in the second round. His rival in this phase will be the Spanish Bernabé Zapata-Miralles.
Also in the men’s category Aslan Karatsev and Roman Safiullin won their first round matches. And the most striking moment was the emotions of Alexander Bublik, who could not do anything with the “disabled” Dominic Thiem.
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The US Open will be held from August 28 to September 10. Follow all the events of the New York tournament in the “Championship”.
