NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic said late last week that he felt no lingering feelings of anger over not being allowed into the country for the U.S. Open last year because of travel restrictions at the time for those who were not vaccinated against COVID-19. At that point, Djokovic, who was at the top of his game after a Wimbledon title earlier in the year, was unable to claim his fourth title here, having won in 2011, 2015 and 2018 and one game shy of a calendar year The Grand Slam in 2021 was left behind.
“No, there was no anger. It was last year during the Open when I felt like it’s a shame I’m not there,” he said. “I was sad that I couldn’t take part.
“But this year, I mean, is this year. I don’t think about what happened last year or the last few years. I’m just focused on this year’s tournament.”
“Focused” is one way to describe how Djokovic looked through two rounds. Dominant might be a better word.
That’s no surprise as the 36-year-old will return to world No. 1 regardless of how the rest of the tournament goes, but in two rounds Djokovic has prevailed against two weaker opponents. That includes Wednesday afternoon, when he easily defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was his second straight win in a row, including his first-round win late Monday night/Tuesday morning over Alexandre Muller.
On Wednesday, Zapata Miralles played admirably in the first set before Djokovic made quick work of him in the second and third sets. He hit 35 to 15 winners for the Spaniard and broke him six times without ever losing a game on his own serve.
“(Zapata Miralles) got off to a good start. We had a few rallies. But you know, one break was enough,” Djokovic said of the first one. “Then I played really well in the second set. There were a few close games at the beginning of the third period, but I played really, really well in the last four games of the third period.”
Djokovic’s first two matches are a continuation of his performance earlier this month at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he marched to the title, including a three-set win in the final over new rival Carlos Alcaraz. It’s still early in the tournament, but the excitement is certainly growing that Djokovic could meet the top-seeded Spaniard in the final here. Of course, these two also played an epic final at Wimbledon in July, where Alcaraz won in five memorable sets.
Alcaraz even joked after his first-round victory on Tuesday that he would try to regain the world No. 1 ranking as quickly as possible, even if he technically couldn’t do it in New York.
“I knew (Djokovic) would reclaim the No. 1 spot after the US Open,” Alcaraz said. “When the tournament is over, I will try to recover as quickly as possible. That is my goal. That’s what I work for.”
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz met in the Cincinnati final ten days ago, with Djokovic getting revenge at Wimbledon with a narrow three-set win. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
But Alcaraz and Djokovic can deal with that later. For now, Djokovic will try to dash Alcaraz’s dreams of becoming the first consecutive US Open winner since Roger Federer in 2007 and 2008.
Why did the players find it so difficult to repeat themselves here?
Djokovic has a theory.
“In some ways it might be because the season is over,” he said last week. “It’s the last Grand Slam of the year. It was a tough eight months of tennis for all players. Maybe that’s why you would probably see more surprises at this Grand Slam than perhaps at some other Slams. That’s the only thing that really comes to mind.”
Next up for Djokovic in the third round will be a fellow Serbian: Laslo Djere, who is ranked 38th in the world. They have met before, in Belgrade in 2022, and it was close as Djokovic won 2-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) in a match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes . The 28-year-old Djere has two career singles titles, but this is his first trip to the third round of the US Open in six attempts.
Although his best surface is clay, Djere is “playing (some of) his best tennis on hard court right now,” Djokovic said. “He is in very good shape. It’s great for Serbian tennis that we have a duel in the third round. … He’s one of the hardest workers on the tour.”
Hard worker or not, Djere will have his hands full with a man who could well be on a mission after having to watch from home a year ago. Djokovic’s half of the draw is the weaker half and has already seen nine of his 16 seeds lose, including the three highest after No. 2 Djokovic – No. 4 Holger Rune, No. 5 Casper Ruud and No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He is a big favorite to reach the final, where Alcaraz may await him, and perhaps follow that with a 24th Grand Slam title to extend his all-time men’s record.
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(Photo above: Angela Weiss / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)