Steve Johnson withstood a 52-ace barrage from close friend John Isner to beat the 16th seed 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(3) and advance to the second round of the US Open. Isner’s 52 aces are the second-most at the tournament since 1991, only trailing Ivo Karlovic’s 61 (2016 first round).

“You can’t get frustrated when John’s hitting aces. If that’s the case then you’re in for a long day. He’s got the best serve in the history of tennis. You know he’s going to hit a lot of aces,” Johnson said. “I guessed right a lot and they still got by me. It’s just the way it is. You just have to laugh it off. I’ve played John enough to know it’s just trying to get your racquet on it, any return you make is a good one and you move on.”

The World No. 64 was the only player to break serve in the match and he moved on after three hours and 50 minutes inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. In 10 ATP Head2Head meetings (Johnson leads 6-4), five of them have gone to a final-set tie-break. Johnson has won four of those five matches.

Most Aces In One Match, US Open (since 1991)

The American had a strong service evening of his own, striking 22 aces and winning 85 per cent of his first-serve points. Johnson will next play Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, who beat Italian Federico Gaio 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Johnson will try to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2012.

Jack Sock” />

Former World No. 8 Jack Sock battled hard to win his first Grand Slam singles match since the 2018 US Open on Monday, defeating Uruguayan shotmaker Pablo Cuevas 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2) to reach the second round at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Entering this year’s Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, Sock had lost 10 of 11 matches at all levels and he did not own a FedEx ATP Ranking. But in Florida he ousted defending champion Radu Albot in a final-set tie-break. Just weeks later he reached the final of the ATP Challenger Tour event held at Indian Wells.

The COVID-19 pandemic stopped the 27-year-old’s momentum as play was suspended for more than five months. But World No. 389 Sock hit 51 winners in his three-hour, 15-minute victory against the Uruguayan.

Cuevas had won the pair’s two previous ATP Head2Head meetings, including a straight-sets win at last year’s US Open. But Sock capitalised on four of his six break points to advance. He will next play 32nd seed Adrian Mannarino, against whom he has won four of five matches.

Taylor Fritz” />

Another American who advanced on the first day of the year’s second Grand Slam was Taylor Fritz. The 19th seed rallied past German Dominik Koepfer, who made the fourth round at Flushing Meadows last year, 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Fritz has now won his opening match at seven of the past eight majors. He will try to reach the third round in New York for the second time when he faces former World No. 6 Gilles Simon. The Frenchman eased past Egyptian Mohamed Safwat 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima earned his first Grand Slam win on his major debut, eliminating 38-year-old Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(3). The newly-turned 19-year-old won his first ATP Tour matches earlier this year in Delray Beach, where he made the quarter-finals.

“It feels great. Definitely been waiting for this to happen,” Nakashima said. “I think I played a really good match today and it was great to get my first Grand Slam win.”

Pablo Carreno Busta, the 20th seed, rallied to beat Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. He will next play American Mitchell Krueger, who eliminated Portugal’s Pedro Sousa 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.

Can anyone stop Novak Djokovic? The top seed continued his flawless season on Monday night at the US Open, moving to 24-0 in 2020 with a speedy 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 victory against Damir Dzumhur.

“He’s one of the quickest players on the Tour. He played some really good shots and it was anybody’s game midway through the second set,” Djokovic said on court after the match. “I was pleased to close out the second set and then stepped it up [by] a couple of levels.

“I did struggle a bit [with] the semi-finals and final back to back [last week], but I had 48 hours. Not so much [time], but still enough time to recover. I felt good on the court today. The good thing about a Slam is that you only play every two days, so you have at least one day of rest and recovery. I’m going to try to use that as much as I can and gather all my energy and strength for the next one.”

24-0 in 2020.

Novak Djokovic defeats Dzumhur in straight sets for the R1 W.@DjokerNole I #USOpen pic.twitter.com/SgFvyOIEtA

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2020

Despite being in firm control throughout the match, Djokovic looked up to his team on numerous occasions. Without the typically full stadium of fans cheering him on that he’s accustomed to, the World No. 1 appeared to be looking for additional support from his entourage.

“Your team, your box, is always cheering you on. Regardless of whether you have an empty or full stadium, you always turn to them mostly. You look up to them, expect them to be with you and support you on the journey throughout the match,” Djokovic said. “Maybe you don’t want your box to clap when your opponent makes a mistake. Damir is a very good friend, so it’s a little bit awkward. But at the same time, it’s a Grand Slam, first round, biggest stadium in our sport [and] we want to start well.”

Novak Djokovic had it all going today.@Djokernole I #USOpen pic.twitter.com/6DTFZt8nIT

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2020

All of Djokovic’s wins this year have come on hard courts. He earned his 35th ATP Masters 1000 title last week at the Western & Southern Open (d. Raonic) and now shares the record with Rafael Nadal for most Masters 1000 titles. The Serbian also edged further clear of Nadal and Roger Federer in the ‘Big Titles’ battle with a 57th trophy at that level and could increase the gap even more if he wins his 18th Grand Slam title this fortnight. 

Awaiting the three-time US Open champion (2011, 2015, 2018) in the next round is Kyle Edmund, who defeated Alexander Bublik 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-0. Djokovic holds a 5-1 over Edmund in their ATP Head2Head, including a fourth-round win at the 2016 US Open. 

“He has a really good serve and forehand, two really big weapons. I had some really good matches against him in the past, tough four-setter at Wimbledon a few years ago,” Djokovic said. “He doesn’t feel so much pressure playing on a big court. He actually likes the challenge.

“I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a really hard worker, puts a lot of hours on and off the court into perfecting his game. His results were up and down a little bit, but I think he does have the game and potential to be in the Top 20 without a doubt, where I expect him to be soon. So it’s going to be a tough one.”

Djokovic’s only blip in the first set came when he whiffed a backhand in the fourth point, but he quickly recovered and displayed his best form. The Serbian pushed Dzumhur well behind the baseline in their rallies and tossed in several crafty drop shots to end points, even throwing in a successful serve-and-volley play to close out the opening set.

Dzumhur continued to tirelessly chase down balls and mix up the pace on his shots in an effort to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm. His dogged determination was highlighted by saving six break points to hold serve at 3-3 in the second set. But Djokovic remained unfazed and broke Dzumhur at 4-4 before grabbing a commanding two-sets lead, letting out a roar after set point. 

The third set was one-way traffic for Djokovic and he fired a forehand passing shot on match point to advance in one hour and 58 minutes. He finished the night with 31 winners to 29 unforced errors.

Jan-Lennard Struff won the first seven games and last five games of his 6-0, 7-5, 6-4 win over Pedro Martinez. Awaiting the No. 28 seed in the second round is Michael Mmoh, who defeated Joao Sousa 6-2, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

Alexander Zverev has contested numerous five-set battles in the opening rounds of Grand Slam events, but the World No. 7 avoided such an opening to his US Open campaign with an impressive win on Monday.

The fifth seed faced a serious challenge against 2017 runner-up Kevin Anderson on Arthur Ashe Stadium and he rose to the occasion, recording a 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 victory after three hours and seven minutes. It was Zverev’s first victory since the resumption of the ATP Tour, having lost his opening match at the Western & Southern Open to former World No. 1 Andy Murray.

”I am actually quite happy with a first round like that,” said Zverev. “Kevin is not someone you usually play in a first round. This is a fourth round, quarter-final, semi-final match normally against him. I am extremely happy to be through.”

Zverev is one of the leading contenders to capture his first major title at this event. Only three Grand Slam champions are competing in the main draw in New York: 17-time major titlist Novak Djokovic, three-time Grand Slam winner Murray and 2014 champion Marin Cilic. In his most recent major appearance, Zverev reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at this year’s Australian Open.

Zverev improves to 6-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Anderson, who underwent right knee surgery on 19 February. The German will next face #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima, who defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(3), for a spot in the third round.

After splitting a competitive opening two sets, Zverev won five straight points on his opponent’s serve to break for a 3-1 third-set lead. The German used his forehand to push Anderson behind the baseline and moved up the court to clinch the break with a delicate backhand drop volley. The 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, who won five of six net points in set three, held to love at 5-3 to move one set from victory.

”[My volley] is something that I worked on in these six months,” said Zverev. “It was my serve, my volleys that I worked on. In the [Western & Southern Open] match, I thought I did those two things well until the really important moments and I wanted to do it differently to finish off the match today.”

In a fourth set dominated by serve, Zverev converted the only break point of the set at 5-5. The 11-time tour-level titlist capitalised on multiple errors from Anderson to serve for the match and held to love to improve to 8-5 at the major championship.