 |
| Novak Djokovic shows his racket what he thinks of it after losing a point! |
Two-times former champion Novak Djokovic overcame a lapse in concentration to beat unseeded American Tennys Sandgren 6-1 6-3 6-7(2) 6-2 and reach the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.
The Serb, who was also pushed to four sets in punishing daytime temperatures above 90 Fahrenheit (32C) in the first round, was far more comfortable in the evening at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, breaking early and running away with the opening set in 31 minutes.
The 31-year-old was two sets up and leading by a break in the third when he spurned a match point, allowing Sandgren to force a tiebreak that the American won easily.
Djokovic, however, recovered well, achieved an early break in the fourth set and closed out the match in two hours, 45 minutes.
“I thought I played really well in the first two sets and then I lost it mentally,” Djokovic said courtside. “I lost my composure and concentration but I got it back in the fourth.”
Djokovic also spoke about the noise from the crowd both between and during points but said it had not been a factor in him losing concentration.
“I was just referring to the atmosphere that the night session at the U.S. Open has,” the sixth seed told reporters.
“I’ve played many times here. It has no connection to my loss of concentration. It was just me, being me sometimes, the other me that my first me doesn’t like.
“You just have to accept it. You can’t expect that 23,000 people are quiet… Wimbledon is all white, it’s tradition. You can’t hear a sound when you play a point. Here it’s different. That’s why these majors are unique in their own way.”
The Serb, who won Wimbledon this year, will face 26th seed Richard Gasquet of France in the third round.
Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis was sent packing by Frenchman Loucas Pouille (seeded 17) as he lost by 3-1.
Baghdatis got off to a great start by taking the first set on the tie-break (7-4) but lost the next three (6-4,6-4, 6-3) to exit the tournament in the second round.
Day 4, Thursday, Aug. 30
Men’s Singles results
No. 2 Roger Federer def. Benoit Paire, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 Alexander Zverev def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Novak Djokovic def. Tennys Sandgren, 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-2
No. 7 Marin Cilic def. Hubert Hurkacz, 6-2, 6-0, 6-0
No. 10 David Goffin def. Robin Haase, 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2
Joao Sousa def. No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 2-0 (ret.)
No. 13 Diego Schwartzman def. Jaume Munar, 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2
John Millman def. No. 14 Fabio Fognini, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 17 Lucas Pouille def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
No. 21 Kei Nishikori def. Gael Monfils, 6-2, 5-4 (ret.)
Mikhail Kukushkin def. No. 23 Hyeon Chung, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3
No. 26 Richard Gasquet def. Laslo Djere, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3
No. 30 Nick Kyrgios def. Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 4-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-3, 6-0
Jan-Lennard Struff def. Julian Benneteau, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Matthew Ebden, 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2, 6-0
Alex de Minaur def. Frances Tiafoe, 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2
Day 5, Friday, Aug. 31
Men’s Singles schedule
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 27 Karen Khachanov
No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro vs. No. 31 Fernando Verdasco
No. 5 Kevin Anderson vs. No. 28 Denis Shapovalov
No. 9 Dominic Thiem vs. Taylor Fritz
No. 11 John Isner vs. Dusan Lajovic
No. 20 Borna Coric vs. Daniil Medvedev
No. 25 Milos Raonic vs. Stan Wawrinka
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. Guido Pella
