US Open 2021: Novak Djokovic sees out Holger Rune to enter Round 2
Novak Djokovic of Serbia is bidding for his record 21st Grand Slam. He started US Open 2021 with a win, defeating Denmark's Holger Rune in the opening contest.
FollowReigning world number one, Novak Djokovic of Serbia is off to a winning start to his 2021 US Open campaign. In Round 1, he was up against Holger Rune of Denmark, as he beat him 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 to march into Round 2.
In the opening set, the Serbian was on top of his game, registering three breaks, thus winning it 6-1. In the second set, the Danish showed remarkable resilience with aggressive gameplay, taking it to a tie-breaker and eventually winning it 7-6(5).
However, he quickly suffered cramps and was attended by the physio twice in the third and fourth set. During this time, the world number one took full advantage of the situation, outplaying him and winning consecutively 6-2 and 6-1, hitting 55 winners.
"It's tough to talk about third and fourth sets because he barely moved. My side, I started great. Played a really, really good first set. After that, I don't know; I was 4-3 serving in the second set. Everything was working well, but then, I just lost the first serve," he said after the match during the press conference.
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"Credit to him for fighting. He had the crowd behind him. It was tough to play in my first match, even though I had tonnes of experience playing on this court. For him, it was the first one. Still, you get nerves. You still are feeling a little bit rusty at the beginning. Obviously, I'm pleased with the way I finished the match. Again, it was not a fair battle on the court with his unfortunate injury and cramping," he concluded.
Djokovic would now face Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor in the next round. He is bidding for his record 21st Grand Slam, while he would also be looking to join a list of select players to have won the Calendar Slam (all four Slams in a year).
He missed the chance of winning the Golden Slam, missing out on the gold medal during the Tokyo Olympics last month. He was handed a default in the tournament last year after negligently hitting the linesman with the ball.
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