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Djoker, Rafa take different routes
Djokovic Cruises In First Round
Novak Djokovic built a 6-0, 5-1 lead in the first round before Conor Niland retired
NEW YORK -- Heading into this U.S. Open -- Novak Djokovic's first major as the No. 1-ranked player -- one statistic loomed larger than any other: 57-2.
But that extraordinary won-loss record, one of the best starts on record, came with a qualification -- a big, ugly asterisk.
For a few weeks ago, his success finally caught up with him; Djokovic imploded after playing too many matches in too few days. The fulcrum, the right shoulder that has been skittish all season long, gave out and he was forced to retire from his finals match in Cincinnati against Andy Murray. One suspects there was some mental exhaustion involved as well.
It was an awkward moment as the 24-year-old Serb sat in his changeover chair, gingerly rotating his shoulder and grimacing. It was a glimpse of the ghost of Djokovic past, when his retirements from big matches raised doubts about his intestinal fortitude.
Ah, not to worry. Make that 58-2 -- and you can take the asterisk off the board.
Djokovic annihilated ailing Irish qualifier Conor Niland, who turned out to be an expert in the sport of hurling in his 30-minute warm-up. Djokovic took the first set 6-0 in 21 minutes and the match 6-0, 5-1 when Niland was forced to retire.
Novak Djokovic could not have asked for a better first-round match.
Djokovic won the last 16 points, and 46 of 60 in the match. Later, Niland said he was battling food poisoning.
"I don't think I'm lacking any time on the court or matches," Djokovic said. "This year has been a very long year. So I really don't mind that I spend less time on the court."
So, how is the shoulder?
"After Cincinnati, I took some time off," he said, "and I did everything in order to recover the shoulder. Today, I didn't feel any pain."
Thus, Djokovic -- who is trying to become only the sixth man to win three Grand Slam singles titles in a single season -- moves back into the role of clear-cut favorite.
2. Rafa always takes his time: No, even if his pants were on fire, the defending champion would never be in a hurry.
You know the routine: Rafa works his way through three or four balls and, at length, comes up with two, putting the slightly fuzzier one in his pocket. He bounces one ball, adjusts his, uh, shorts in the back, wipes his face, tucks his hair over his ear, bounces the ball several more times, rocks back and forth and finally delivers the serve. The whole process often exceeds the ATP 25-second limit rule.
Tuesday night's match against Andrey Golubev was vintage Rafa. Golubev would seem to be the ideal candidate for a swift departure. He was a dismal 6-24 for the season and recently suffered a 0-18 losing streak. Oh, and he had lost nine of his past 10 Grand Slam matches.
Naturally, Rafa turned this into a protracted science project, winning in three creeping, gnarly sets, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 7-5. Golubev broke Nadal's serve an astonishing six times, pushing the match to 2 hours, 49 minutes.
3. Early storm warning? The path of Roger Federer through the first few rounds here at the Billie Jean King national tennis center is easier to predict than Hurricane Irene's:
Smooth sailing.
The No. 3-ranked seed was pleased with his opening match Monday night, a straight-sets win over Santiago Giraldo.
"Couldn't be better," Federer said. "Overall, I'm very happy."
Next up, Thursday, is 26-year-old Dudi Sela of Israel. They have met only one previous time, at the 2005 French Open. Sela got all of five games in three sets.
4. The Pride of India The causal tennis fan may have never heard of Somdev Devvarman, but in India he is a household name.
On Wednesday, the 26-year-old meets No. 4-ranked Andy Murray in the second match on Arthur Ashe.
Devvarman has some game. He's ranked No. 64 among ATP World Tour players and is 18-17 for the year. He won two NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008, beating Georgia's John Isner and J.P. Smith of Tennessee, respectively, in the finals.
Devvarman and Murray have ever played each other.
Rafael Nadal squeaks into second round at U.S. Open 2011
Rafael Nadal's first match as defending U.S. Open champion was hardly a tour de force.
He would fall behind in a set, then come back. Fall behind, then come back.
His serve was broken six times — one more than it was in seven matches during his run to the title at Flushing Meadows a year ago. His shots didn't have their normal depth. He needed to save seven set points during the second set.
•Li Na upset at U.S. Open
•Ana Ivanovic honours grandfather with win
•Djokovic advances when opponent retires
Tuesday's U.S. Open results Locked in a struggle for nearly three hours, the second-seeded Nadal eventually got past 98th-ranked Andrey Golubev 6-3, 7-6 (1), 7-5 on Tuesday night to reach the second round of the U.S. Open.
“Well,” Nadal conceded, “I was a little bit lucky to win today in straight sets.”
An Interview With Novak Djokovic
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Q. You're in here a little earlier than expected. It was kinda quick.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes. Well, I don't think I'm lacking any time on the court or matches. This year has been a very long year. So I really don't mind that I spend less time on the court. I think I've played well for these 45, 50 minutes that we had on the court. It's unfortunate for my opponent, obviously. He had food poisoning he told me after the match. But I felt great on the court, and that's something that's really important for the start of the tournament.
Q. How tired are you at this point in the season, playing so much?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm not really tired, you know, because I switched to the mode of Grand Slam focus, you know. Not really caring about what happens, it's just I'm trying to be in the present, trying to prepare well, and be 100% mentally and physically fit for the matches that are about to come here. You know, today was great opening performance. I know it has been long year, but it's not the first time that you know, I've played many matches in the past, as well, but, you know, you've got to adjust to it. I think, you know, right now with my time I'm doing a quite good job to stay fit.
Q. How would you describe how your shoulder felt in Cincinnati and how it felt today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, the shoulder in Cincinnati didn't feel good obviously, and throughout the whole week I was carrying the, you know, kind of pain and discomfort in my shoulder. But after Cincinnati I took some time off, and I did everything in order to recover the shoulder. Today I didn't feel any pain. I served well and I played well, so I have no concern.
Q. Have there been any times this year where you just didn't want to go out on the tennis court, didn't want to get up in the morning and just wanted to...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: There is always those days, you know, where you don't want to get up and, you know, you don't feel like playing. It's normal, you know. Everybody has those days. Bad days in the office, if you want to call them. But, you know, in the end it's yours job. It's your profession. You have to do it. You go on the court especially if you're playing big tournaments, big matches, you have to try to play your best. That's something that, you know, always keeps me motivated, the will to win.
Q. When you think back on your performance here last year in the finals, do you primarily feel pride of your achievement of getting that far, or is there any disappointment? How do you think back on that?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I actually have great memories from New York and from the US Open. Last four years, two semifinals, two finals. I played great, you know, throughout my whole career on these courts. That, you know, gives me enough reason to believe I can play well. This year, I think this year more than ever, you know, I have a good chance. I'm playing the best tennis of my life and I have a great confidence. Yeah, the conditions are suitable to my game. I love the entertainment. I love the crowd.
Q. Speaking of entertainment, for years you were trying to pass Roger and Rafa. In terms of entertainment, Rafa is almost like a rock star. He's so appealing. And Roger is beautiful and perfect and graceful. How do you think you're taken and received here in North America?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: What about me?
Q. You're No. 1. Just don't hit me when we're doing an interview.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: You spent all your words already on that. (Laughter.)
Q. What do you think your image is like here? How do you think it's changing?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, you know, it's equally important, of course, to play well on the court and to do your job to win, you know. As much as you're successful and as much as you win, you get more attention from the media and from the people, and you get more respect, obviously, from your colleagues. But I think it's really important as well to carry yourself off the court in a good way. I have been learning that throughout my whole career, and last couple of years I have experienced some good and bad situations on and off the court. But I accepted that all as a big lesson in my life and, you know, something that can serve me well for my future. You know, I'm aware of the responsibility that I have as a present No. 1 to, you know, represent the sport as well in some ways off the court. So I need to do that in a best possible way. You know, I'm trying. You tell me, how am I doing?
Q. And the maturing process, how critical was that for you for your breakthrough this year? Do you put that as the No. 1 reason?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes. I think everything in general just came together. And as I said, you know, I think progress is a slow process. It takes a while to really understand the game, understand the life that I'm having, and you learn from your mistakes obviously. You know, you try to get better as a person and as a player each day you wake up. I think maturing this year, you know, helped me a lot on and off the court.
Q. Do you think that we're past a time in tennis where we're gonna see 17, 18, 19 year old Grand Slam champions? Is it just not possible anymore?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's really hard to say, you know. It's hard to predict if that's possible, but maybe I'm wrong. In my opinion, it's much harder to have, you know, teenagers as, you know, Grand Slam champions or No. 1s nowadays because it takes time for a body to develop and to get stronger and to get experience. It's so competitive nowadays physically much more than it used to be.
Q. Last year Jack Sock hit with you during the rain and before the final, and now he's out here and he belongs to CAA like you do. What do you think of his future and what's to come for him?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I was saying last year that, you know, I'm really impressed by his game. His professionalism on the court, I think he has a bright future, you know, if he continues on being determined and focused on this sport. I've practiced with him quite a lot last year, actually, and during the tournament he has won the US Open juniors, so I have to give credit for that. And, yeah, he's a really nice guy off the court, as well. I wish him the best.
Q. Roger last night said he felt the conditions were a bit slower. Did you feel that too, or do you think that's because he played at night?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, there is difference I think in the night sessions and matches during the day. I think, you know, during the day the ball travels through the air faster than in the night. So maybe that's why it was a bit slower. I don't know. I didn't spend that much time on the center court, but I still I don't feel any big difference from last year. I think it's more or less the same surface.
Q. To clarify a subject you touched on in the press conference yesterday, what importance has this egg, the hyperbaric chamber had in its therapy for you? How much have you used it in the last year? Is there any sort of controversial aspect to it in your mind?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, you know, I said yesterday, and I'm gonna repeat it I think for the last time, you know, because I really wouldn't like to speak about it anymore because I don't there is no reason to open the subject. I have used it a couple of times, very few times last year just to test it and see how it is, and since then I haven't used it at all, you know, this year. So I cannot really say what's the effect. It doesn't have any influence on my success that I had in last 10 months, so that's really all I can say.
Q. Is there something controversial about it, for those of us that aren't that familiar with it?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I really don't know. There is nothing controversial. As I was aware, you know, many athletes, successful athletes, have been using that in the past. But as I said, I haven't used it for 12 months so I really don't know. I didn't keep track with its technology.
Q. I don't know if you remember Gaston Gaudio the Argentinian player. He's confirmed today officially that he's a retired player. What do you remember about him? What do you remember about his game?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, he's a Grand Slam champion, you know. He won Roland Garros and he had I think the year when he won French Open and the year before, year after, he had couple of best years in his career. He was the player to beat on the clay courts, you know, next to Rafa, Coria. You know, those guys were ruling the clay court season. Yeah, he's very talented. One of the nicest one handed backhands. Very relaxed guy off the court. Very nice.
Q. It's very rare actually that we ever talk to someone who has their dream come. Wimbledon, obviously, you became No. 1. Is it something that actually since you were a little kid you were thinking about it? Did it change your life? Did it change how people are around you, or were you surprised nothing changed? Did you think something like that would really change things for you, or in the end it hasn't changed much?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I wasn't thinking about, you know, the period after achieving my dream and winning Wimbledon and becoming No. 1 what's gonna happen. You know, I really try to, you know, take things lightly and see how it would work for me. But after that I have won Wimbledon I took some time off and I got to think about everything that I've been through. And to be honest with you, I even have more motivation to play and to win more Grand Slams now more than ever that I know that I can actually, you know, perform equally well on any surface, that I have equal chances on any Grand Slam that I play. So this is something that gives me a lot of desire to come back to the game.
Q. Do you see and read things about people are saying if you win here you might complete the greatest season in the history of men's tennis? Does that sound real?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Sounds big. (Laughter.) No, this year has been tremendous, best so far in my career, and there has been a lot of talks about history making and this incredible run. No doubt I'm extremely honored and privileged to be part of the elite of the players that have made, you know, the history of the sport in some ways. But my main focus is really on the court. I need to take one match at a time. That's the only way I can really perform well.
Q. Next year the season will get two weeks shorter. Do you think that that would be a good length of the season for you, or would you still want the season to...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, we were all really engaged in the schedule issue. I mean, top players and most of the players will have been, you know, kind of complaining about the length of the season. I think it's good. It's really good for all of us to have a bit shorter season. You know, it's not an easy thing to do. It's not an easy process of changing the schedule because there is many things involved. It's not just ATP. It's ITF, it's Grand Slams. So can't always look at it from the players' perspective. You have to look at it from the tournaments' perspectives as well, what's good and what's not. So the intensity is gonna be I think the same, if not higher, next year because of the same commitment tournaments. But at least it's two weeks shorter and we're going to have a bit longer of off season.
Q. You'd be happy with that, or still need more time off?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, of course.
Li Na upset at U.S. Open
The last of the reigning women’s grand slam champions was shown the door at the U.S. Open Tuesday when error-prone French Open winner Li Na succumbed to unseeded Romanian teenager Simona Halep 6-2 7-5.
Li sprayed the ball long and wide throughout the one-hour, 34-minute first-round encounter, committing 54 unforced errors on a sun-drenched day at Flushing Meadows.
The 29-year-old Chinese said her May victory on the red clay at Roland Garros seems like a long time ago.
“Before I came to the court, I never think like I was a grand slam champion,” she said. “The French Open is like three months (ago) already. It’s enough time to forget.
“Now is the hard court season. You have to focus on hard court. You can’t only think about what you do on a clay court.
“If you think about clay, you have to think about next year, not this year.”
Last year’s U.S. Open winner and current Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters did not defend her title because of injury, while Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova was beaten Monday.
Li has stumbled badly in the Paris aftermath, losing confidence with each early-round setback.
“Before the match, (I) talked to my coach,” she said. “I said I didn’t have good timing to hit the ball. He tells me everything is perfect, everything is fantastic.
“I say, ‘Yes, everything is fantastic, but I always lose first round.’ I mean, this is not fantastic. We need to change something.”
Li could not rely on the rest of her game against Halep, landing only 61 percent of her first serves and failing to fire an ace. She had only 22 winners in the match.
Halep, who played with an ankle injury she suffered in Toronto earlier this month, called the win “unbelievable.”
“It’s not easy to play against a grand slam champ because it’s very top level,” she said. “I had emotion. I was nervous before the match.
“But I wanted just to enjoy the match, to feel the ball good, and to play my best... I am happy that I beat her.”
Li called her hardcourt breakdown “a terrible feeling.”
“Two years in a row, first round here. First round Indian Wells, Miami,” she said, shaking her head. “I mean, normally I like hard court a lot.
“I really wanted to do well after Roland Garros. But it’s not easy to do. It’s always easy to say, ‘I want to do, I would like to do.’ But I always lose early.
“Now I’ve lost all the confidence on the court.”
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