Novak Djokovic’s US Open struggles continued but the 24-time grand slam champion avoided his earliest ever exit at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic admitted after a four-set win over Learner Tien in round one that he had not felt good physically and he again looked distinctly uncomfortable in the first set of his clash with qualifier Zachary Svajda.
The American won that on a tie-break to forge an unlikely lead on Arthur Ashe Stadium but Djokovic fought back to claim a 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory.
“I didn’t feel that great to be honest,” said the 38-year-old. “I wasn’t happy with my tennis for the first part of the match, but also credit to Zach for playing some really high-quality tennis.
“It was unfortunate that he struggled with injury towards the end of the second set, but kudos to him for staying on the court. It was obvious he couldn’t serve as well as he did for a set-and-a-half.”
Djokovic’s shock loss to Alexei Popyrin in the third round last year matched his earlier defeat in New York, while he has never lost a grand slam match to a player ranked as low as world number 145 Svajda.
But Djokovic could not find anything like his normal level in the first set, and it was Svajda who seized his opportunity to clinch the tie-break.
Slowly Djokovic began to find his range, with his opponent now struggling physically, and, although he was briefly a break up in the third set, Svajda’s challenge faded fast.
Asked whether he feels he can play himself into form, Djokovic said: “That’s what I’m hoping, that was the case for most of my grand slam career. The deeper I go in the tournament, the better I feel about my game.”
Carlos Alcaraz breezed into round three, dropping just four games in a 6-1 6-0 6-3 victory over Italy’s Mattia Bellucci.
“I think I played a really solid match today,” said the Spaniard. “I just set up some goals at the beginning of the match, which I think I did pretty well.
“Some things that I have to improve that I didn’t do as good as I wanted. He played not his best match, I know it, but in general I’m happy to get through.”
The tennis world is waiting for Brazilian wonder kid Joao Fonseca to make his big grand slam breakthrough but that will not come here, with the 19-year-old beaten 7-6 (4) 6-2 6-3 by 21st seed Tomas Machac.
Former finalist Casper Ruud is also out, the Norwegian 12th seed beaten in five sets by Belgian Raphael Collignon, who celebrated his biggest career win, while fourth seed Taylor Fritz fought back from a set down to beat Lloyd Harris 4-6 7-6 (3) 6-2 6-4.
