Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title kicked off on Monday with a rusty 6-2 6-2 6-4 win over qualifier Radu Albot in the U.S. Open first round as the defending champion returned to the court after his Olympic triumph.
Three weeks after winning the singles title at the Paris Games, Djokovic toted his rackets and gear in a pair of gold-coloured bags onto centre court where the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd gave him a hero's welcome.
But the Serb's golden touch was decidedly lacking in the late night match as he struggled with serve and racked up nearly twice as many unforced errors as winners.
For all that, he had more than enough weapons to handle Moldovan Albot in their first tour clash and claim a record 78th win at Arthur Ashe under a closed roof.
While having never played Albot before, Djokovic said he had done his homework on the 34-year-old who beat both his younger brothers Marko and Djordje during their playing days.
Sabalenka cruises past Hon
Aryna Sabalenka opened her U.S. Open campaign with a 6-3 6-3 win over qualifier Priscilla Hon on Monday, with the Belarusian fighting hard for every point in a dominant performance to wrap up the opening night action at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Sabalenka, who came up short in the final a year ago and reached the semis in 2021 and 2022, fired off 27 winners to set up a meeting with Italian Lucia Bronzetti in the second round.
With the New York crowd on her side, the twice Australian Open winner used her lethal forehand to break Australian Hon in the opening game and converted on another chance to close out the first set.
After trading breaks, Sabalenka converted an opportunity with a backhand winner in the sixth game of the second set.
AFP add: Gauff rolls into 2nd round
Coco Gauff powered into the second round of the US Open on Monday, launching her title defence with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Varvara Gracheva.
Gauff, seeded third, fired 10 aces and needed just 66 minutes to beat 66th-ranked Gracheva. She saved eight break points -- including two with aces in the final game.
Gauff has battled through an erratic season since capturing her maiden major last year and her tune-up tournaments saw her fall in the third round at Toronto before she crashed out of her first match as the defending champion in Cincinnati.
"The last few weeks have been a little bit tough," Gauff said. "But today was I think the best tennis I've played in a while."
