New York, Aug 28 (IANS) It wasn’t a hard job for top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia to get past the first round at US Open, which was proved by a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over World No.112 Richardis Berankis.
It took the current World No.1 only 82 minutes to finish the match here Tuesday, reports Xinhua.
“I think the night sessions in New York are quite different from any other tournament because of just the vibe that you feel with the people, the crowd gets involved,” said Djokovic.
“It’s very exciting, always entertaining.”
Djokovic outperformed his opponent both offensively and defensively, and the winner of six Grand Slam was looking forward to taking back his US Open trophy which he lost last year on the same court.
“This is the last Grand Slam of the year,” said Djokovic. “I have high expectations for myself.”
“Knowing that I’ve done so well in past years, had such a good record, gives me enough reason to have this confident and optimistic approach.”
Local rising star Victoria Duval, 17, had a wonderful US Open first round show, beating 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
The World No.296 teenager had her second match and first win at a Grand Slam tournament. Last year she faced Kim Clijsters in US Open first round and lost her match, but one year meant huge growth for a 17-year-old girl.
“I know she didn’t play her best today, and this is the best I’ve played in my career, so I’m really excited,” said Duval after match.
“I just tried to stay in the moment.”
The match turned out to be a tough one even from the first set, in which Stosur edged her young opponent 7-5. The loss of first set didn’t influence Duval much, the Miami-born star finished the second set 6-4 before she forced four match points in the last game of the decisive set.
Duval converted the fourth match point to a victory, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium staged a big celebration for her with applause and cheers.
Duval would next face Daniela Hantuchova from Slovakia in the second round.
