Djokovic continues early momentum at US Open, races into third round

Serb Novak Djokovic, the second seed, moved into the third round of the US Open by defeating Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Wednesday afternoon.

With the match taking exactly two hours, the 36-year-old played some clean tennis, striking 35 winners to 22 unforced errors as he saved six of six break points across the contest. The win is Djokovic’s second quick victory of the tournament, with the world No 2 dispatching Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 on Day One of the US Open.

“He started off solid. We had some rallies. We kind of had to reach out for the towel basically after each one of those longer rallies, so it took a bit more time and effort. But, you know, one break was enough. Then after that, you know, second set I played really good. Beginning of the third, couple of close games, but last four games of the third I ended up really playing really well,” Djokovic said after his win.

“I’m pleased, you know, I’m pleased with the way I’m feeling, playing on the court. Can always be better, but first two rounds didn’t spend too much time on the court and played very solid and hopefully I can keep building.”

“He’s physically very fit, you know, so I must be ready for a physical battle” – Djokovic on next opponent, Djere

Djokovic, ranked No 2, will next face Serb Laslo Djere, the No 32 seed – a player he knows very well.

“I think he’s playing one of his best tennis on hard court at the moment. He’s in very good form. It’s great for Serbian tennis that we have a matchup in the third round. So one Serbian is going to be definitely in the fourth round, which is always great for our tennis. He’s one of the hardest workers on the tour. Puts a lot of hours into care for his body and trying to build his form,” the 23-time Grand Slam winner said.

“Eventually the results will come for a player like him because he’s very, very dedicated and very nice guy. Very quiet. Just, you know, works hard and big fighter. You know, does his best. He’s physically very fit, you know, so I must be ready for a physical battle.”

Earlier in the US Open, Zapata Miralles, ranked No 76, beat American wildcard Ethan Quinn (6-4, 6-4, 6-3) during the first round of the Flushing Meadows tournament.

New York (Grand Slam), other second-round results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 44.700.000, most recent results first):

• Juan Pablo Varillas vs. Taylor Fritz
• Gael Monfils vs. Andrey Rublev
• Matteo Berrettini vs. Arthur Rinderknech
• Jack Draper vs. Hubert Hurkacz
• Michael Mmoh vs. John Isner
• Yibing Wu vs. Alex De Minaur
• Nicolas Jarry vs. Alex Michelsen
• Felipe Meligeni Alves vs. Sebastian Baez
• Daniil Medvedev vs. Christopher O’Connell
• Lorenzo Sonego vs. Jannik Sinner
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Stan Wawrinka
• Andy Murray vs. Grigor Dimitrov
• Alexander Zverev vs. Daniel Altmaier
• Yu Hsiou Hsu vs. Cameron Norrie
• Arthur Fils vs. Matteo Arnaldi
• Botic van de Zandschulp vs. Daniel Evans
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Lloyd Harris
• Sebastian Ofner vs. Frances Tiafoe
• Casper Ruud vs. Zhizhen Zhang
• Titouan Droguet vs. Jakub Mensik
• Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
• Rinky Hijikata vs. Marton Fucsovics
• Dominic Thiem vs. Ben Shelton
• Tommy Paul vs. Roman Safiullin
• Adrian Mannarino vs. Fabian Marozsan: wednesday
• Jiri Vesely vs. Francisco Cerundolo: wednesday
• Benjamin Bonzi vs. Christopher Eubanks: wednesday
• Aslan Karatsev vs. Roberto Carballes Baena: wednesday
• Laslo Djere beat Hugo Gaston (Q): 6-1, 6-2, 6-3
• Borna Gojo (Q) beat Mackenzie McDonald: 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
• Dominic Stricker (Q) beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (7): 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-3