US Open – The top seeds at this year’s US Open got off to a flying start. Novak Djokovic made quick work of his 1st round opponent Joao Souza 6-1 6-1 6-1 in 71 minutes as Serena Williams had an even easier time against Vitalia Diatchenko who was forced to retire from the match with an Achilles injury down 0-6 0-2 after half an hour. by Cordell Hackshaw
Djokovic is coming into these championships as one of the favourites though his name is hardly the one being spoken of in the press. However, the Serbian is hungry to equal his success back in 2011 when he won three majors, “I’m doing everything in my power to get an opportunity to fight for a trophy,” Djokovic said after the match.
The Serb broke Souza seven times in the match twice in the first and third sets and three times in the second. The match statistics were very impressive in Djokovic’s favour with 75% of his first serves in, winning 92% of those points as well as winning 62% on the 2nd serve points. Djokovic had 24 winners to only 7 errors. Souza on the other hand could make no impression on the Djokovic game especially since he was only winning 55% of his 1st serve points and 27% on his 2nd serve. He was under pressure from the beginning of the match.
Of the match, Djokovic had this to say, “I lost three games the entire match against a player I never played against before. Can always be tricky because you’re approaching the match without really knowing how he’s going to react … I couldn’t ask for a better opening for this year’s US Open. Hopefully I can continue in that rhythm.”
Serena who is on quest for her 5th major in a row and the rare “Calendar Grand Slam” barely broke a sweat against her opponent who was clearly injured from the onset of the match. Diatchenko was unable to get up off the ground for the serves and was using an abbreviated motion. During the rallies she rarely went after the balls and hence the points were over within 2-3 strokes. Serena was able to amass a 5-0 lead in just 12 minutes. Diatchenko called the trainer on court twice, initially to have her foot re-taped but on the final go around, she decided to end the match. Diatchenko won only 5 of the 37 points played in the match.
Williams was very understanding to Diatchenko’s plight noting that it was difficult for her to make an effort to play under such difficult conditions. She was very consoling and encouraging at the net, showing signs of sincere sympathy and empathy for the Russian.
Djokovic will play Andreas Haider-Maurer who took out Vasek Pospisil 6-4 3-6 6-7 6-0 6-1 in the next round and Serena will take on Kiki Bertens for a place in the 3rd round. Bertens took out Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in 3 sets, 3-6 6-4 6-2.
