TENNIS: ONLY A couple of weeks ago, before his body started to give up on him, Novak Djokovic was Superman. His path so far in the US Open would not have inconvenienced Clark Kent.
His second-round win over his friend Carlos Berlocq – 6-0, 6-0, 6-2 in 90 minutes, the first set taking a mere 20 minutes – was so quick and devastating that a fan approached Djokovic on his way to the locker room, to demand compensation.
Djokovic recalled: “He said, ‘Hey, listen, I paid a hundred bucks. You’re staying an hour and a half on the court. That’s a lot to pay for a ticket. Give me something so I get back home with a happy face. Give me a racket or something.’” He probably wasn’t joking. This is New York. He didn’t get the racket. But fans are getting value for money from Djokovic this year.
Before he quit with a sore right shoulder in the final of the Cincinnati Open against Andy Murray, the world number one had lost one of the 58 matches he had played in 2011, a semi-final at Roland Garros against an inspired Roger Federer, and there did not appear to be any credible impediment to his progress towards greatness other than his own frailties.
And then he fell to earth. When he walked away from the Cincinnati final, he looked shattered. His serve had dropped to the level of a club player. He could not stretch on the right side of the court. The light in his eyes dimmed. Djokovic was worried, and the prospect of trying to win seven matches over two weeks in the harsh glare of the US Open occurred to him as burdensome rather than an exciting challenge.
Now, the crisis would seem to be over. Djokovic goes into the third round of the final Grand Slam tournament of the season refreshed, hungry and dangerous. He has spent precisely 134 minutes on court and has dropped just four games in two matches in the first week. It is the sort of introduction to the tougher part of the draw that leading players dream of.
Djokovic was gifted his first-round match when Ireland’s Conor Niland, struggling awfully with food poisoning, had to retire after 44 minutes. Berlocq had no such excuse. The Argentinian was, in the cruel argot of the game, butchered. Djokovic was so dominant he came close to an historic triple bagel (a 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 scoreline). He even pulled off an outrageous between-the-legs winner from the baseline that confounded Berlocq, who had ventured forward in expectation of a quick kill, only to be forced into a lame tap into the net.
Flavia Pennetta caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a gutsy 6-3 3-6 6-4 victory over third seed Maria Sharapova on Arthur Ashe Stadium last night.
The 2006 champion, who had been the second favourite for the title, paid for 12 double faults and 60 unforced errors as Pennetta progressed to a fourth-round meeting with Peng Shuai.
Guardian Service
