Twenty-four Grand Slam Champion Novak Djokovic is through to the second round of the US Open after defeating 19-year-old rising star Learner Tien 6-1,7-6(7-3), 6-2 at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Djokovic played exceptionally well since his last match at the Wimbledon semi-final, where he was thrashed by Jannik Sinner.
But when he was about to start his second set, he felt uncomfortable and had to take some time out to get treatment for blisters on his foot, but that did not stop him as he managed to get back into the game and defeat the young American tennis star.
“I started great. Just over 20 minutes, first set, I felt really good. Then some long games to start the second set, and then I started to feel really (bad) – I don’t know why. I really was surprised how bad I was feeling in the second physically”, said Djokovic.
“We had long exchanges, but I also dropped my level and made a lot of unforced errors and got him back into the match. I’m glad that I kind of reset myself after the second set. And the third set was OK to finish up the match.
“Good thing, two days off now. But it’s slightly a concern. I don’t have any injuries or anything. I just struggled a lot to stay in long exchanges and recover after points.”
As the clock keeps on ticking, the 38-year-old wants to continue winning and lifting trophies, as he wants to lift the US Open trophy for the fifth time. He won the tournament for the first time in 2011, then in 2015, 2018, and 2023. He has hinted that he plans to retire from tennis, giving himself three more years.
Djokovic’s next match will be against another youngster, Zachary Svajda. This is the first time both opponents will go head-to-head. The 22-year-old comes from a tennis family , his dad played at the 1982 USTA Boys’18s National Championships. The young man, who said he started playing tennis at the age of 2, started making waves and being noticed in tennis when he received a wildcard entry into the US Open in 2019.
