Djokovic and Wozniaki make winning returns to US Open

 

[August 29, 2023]  By Steve Keating

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki made winning returns to the U.S. Open on Monday, while women's world number one Iga Swiatek was in ominous form in getting her title defence off to a flying start.

It was also a bright start for home hopes of a U.S. winner at the championships, with Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe enjoying routine wins in their bids to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title in 20 years.

On the women's side, Coco Gauff was made to work for her place in the second round.

Djokovic, prevented from playing in last year's U.S. Open due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, began his latest campaign to match Margaret Court's all-time record haul of 24 Grand Slams with a 6-0 6-2 6-3 win over Alexandre Muller.

Arriving in New York on the back of an absorbing win over young rival Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati final, an in-form Djokovic showed the 84th ranked Frenchman no mercy in his U.S. Open main draw debut.

"This court has seen so much history and so many battles," Djokovic told the New York crowd.

"Everyone knows in tennis that night sessions at Arthur Ashe definitely are the most exciting, fun, loud, energetic sessions you can have out there in the tennis world."

While the U.S. Open has just got underway, Djokovic's win guarantees he will nudge Alcaraz out of top spot in the rankings when they are updated on Sept. 11.

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 him with applause as he emerged from the tunnel.

And it was clear that the three-time champion had missed them too 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.

SPARSE CROWD

While Djokovic played in front of a packed house, Swiatek performed to a sparse sleepy morning audience.

Bidding to become the first woman to defend the U.S. Open crown since Serena Williams won three straight from 2012-2014, the Pole kicked off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium court by blasting Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-0 6-1.

Winner of three of the last six Grand Slams, not even the world's top ranked player was able to inject some excitement into a lifeless contest that was mercifully completed in under 60 minutes.

Aug 28, 2023; Flushing, NY, USA; Tatiana Prozorova hits to Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on day one of the 2023 U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

"I feel like I could play proactively from the beginning and just didn't stop," said Swiatek, who next meets Australian Daria Saville. "I'm just happy that this was such a nice first round, because first rounds are usually tricky.

"Also, I'm happy that I kind of had time to implement all of the stuff that I practiced on."

The U.S. Open also welcomed back fan favourite and twice finalist Wozniacki, who retired in 2020 to raise a family and marked her return to Grand Slam tennis with a tidy 6-3 6-2 win over Russian qualifier Tatiana Prozorova.

It has been 78 Grand Slams since Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open and hopes that an American man can snap that title drought have fallen largely on the shoulders of Fritz and Tiafoe.

The top-ranked American men were hardly tested on Monday, with ninth seed Fritz crushing compatriot Steve Johnson 6-2 6-1 6-2 and Tiafoe, the 10th seed, beating another American, Learner Tien, 6-2 7-5 6-1.

Christopher Eubanks, who grabbed the limelight with an unexpected run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, was also a popular winner with the home crowd after he beat South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo 6-3 6-4 0-6 6-4.

Sixth seed Gauff, winner in her final U.S. Open tune-up in Cincinnati, got off to a nervy start and had to fight back against feisty German Laura Siegemund before advancing 3-6 6-2 6-4.

In contrast to Gauff's laboured win, Danielle Collins, the 2022 Australian Open finalist, turned on the jets to dispose of Czech Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2 6-0 in a lightning quick 52 minutes.

(Reporting by Steve Keating in New York. Editing by Pritha Sarkar, Shri Navaratnam and Peter Rutherford)

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