Novak Djokovic got off to a rare start at the US Open, amid a deafening atmosphere at Arthur Ashe that sometimes annoyed him and against an 18-year-old rival145th in the world and with a long name, Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, who won the second set and then, exhausted and nervous, could not physically face the challenge of trying to win the number one in the world. The Serbian imposed his category to beat this boy with potential and extra motivated who wriggled in cramps, but he finished the game standing on the court, until he gave up for 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2 and 6-1 at 2:15. Nole, who gave some bad signals in that second round (several double faults and laziness when going for a drop), in the second round he will face an expert in candy, at least on paper, Tallon GriekspoorAs much as the 25-year-old Dutchman and 121st in the world will beat someone at the level of German Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday.
Maybe it's just that Djokovic needs filming, after the vacation he was granted after falling in the semifinals and in the bronze match at the Tokyo Games. Not having played in Toronto or in Cincinnati has slowed him down and nothing better than a few soft first days to catch it. Although the fact is that he found in Rune more resistance than he expected and, above all, an irritating enthusiasm for a player with the genius of the Balkan. The boy was constantly cheering himself up, putting out his fist and yelling even after losing 6-1 in the first set. Something that puzzled a Djokovic who lowered his performance to the point of not being able to prevail in a tiebreaker, of those who earn nine out of ten.
Be that as it may, number one is the great favorite to win the title, the 21st Grand Slam with which he would be the sixth tennis player in history to win all four in the same course. For this you will have to improve when the first corners arrive. Meanwhile, he will gradually recover sensations armed with the experience that his impressive career gives him and that sprint with which he is eating his eternal rivals, who have no choice but to see what happens from home. Rune, who had trained on occasion with the one from Belgrade, also had the consolation of coming out applauded by his idol and by the bustling public at the US Open headquarters, which is no small feat. And under the protection of Patrick Moratoglou, he has a future.
Results, table and schedules.