The clamor of the public was noted when Novak Djokovic set foot in Arthur Ashe to compete in the largest tennis stadium in the world, for the first time since falling in the 2021 final against Medvedev, on the opening night of the last Grand Slam of the year On the way to his chair, the Serb smiled briefly at the stands, at an audience that showed that they had obviously missed him. The smile quickly faded as the warm-up began: it was time to get down to business.
The game began almost at eleven in the New York night. In the earlier meeting, it took Coco Gauff nearly three hours to get rid of Laura Siegemund, followed by a ceremony, led by former US First Lady Michelle Obama, honoring Billie Jean King and commemorating the 50th anniversary of equality in prizes at the US Open. “I knew that tonight would end late, but I didn’t care, because I have been waiting for this moment for years: to return to the biggest stadium in our sport, to the noisiest stadium, on a night shift,” explained Djokovic.
The Serbian did not want to waste time and immediately put the direct, fitting his rival, the Frenchman Alexandre Muller, a resounding donut. Novak analyzed his level of play and compared it to the joy of playing again in New York. “I think my performance explains how I felt tonight, particularly in the first two sets. It could be said that it was ‘turn off and let’s go’ tennis, almost flawless, with a perfect first set. I had an answer for each of the plays in his book. In general, I am very satisfied with the way I feel and how I am playing”.
The Serbian’s superiority was clear from the opening bars of this masterful symphony in which Djokovic barely let the young Frenchman participate with a few loose notes in the second and third sets. In just over an hour and a half, the beating of Muller, who was making his debut in this Slam, had ended. Even so, the three-time US Open champion saw things to improve. “I lowered my serve level in the second and third sets. But I played well from start to finish. I liked the level and I hope to maintain it for the rest of the tournament”.
With this resounding victory, he not only surpasses Federer’s record for night wins in New York (35), but also ensures he unseats Alcaraz from the top of the ranking on September 11, when the new ranking comes out at the end of the tournament. It will be the seventh time so far this year that number one will change hands between Djokovic and the Murcian. Their rivalry is clear.
What is not clear, seeing the desire for the Slam with which Djokovic arrives in Flushing and the moment of play that he has been exhibiting, is whether someone will be able to stop him. The next to try to stop the giant will be Bernabé Zapata Miralles. “There is no easy opponent,” explained Nole. “I always respect everyone and I don’t underestimate anyone. I try to do my best and hopefully I can get another win in a couple of days.”
