Novak Djokovic made a winning return to the U.S. Open by storming past Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 on Monday to reclaim the world number one ranking and take the first step towards matching Margaret Court's record haul of 24 Grand Slams.
Unable to play at last year's event due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic had not been seen on the Flushing Meadows hard courts since his loss to Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 final.
And fans let the 36-year-old know they had missed him, showering the Serb with applause as he emerged from the tunnel onto Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
It was clear that the three-time champion had missed them as well as he embraced the cheers of a record crowd of over 30,000 that included former-U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
Arriving in New York on the back of an absorbing win over his young rival Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open final, an in-form Djokovic showed the 84th ranked Muller no mercy in what was his U.S. Open main draw debut.
Firing on all cylinders, Djokovic broke the overwhelmed Frenchman to open the match and never took his foot off the gas, closing out the first set in 23 minutes with a thundering ace.
Djokovic broke Muller for a fourth time to open the second set and went 2-0 up before his opponent held serve for the first time, raising both hands in triumph as the crowd roared.
