Roberto Carballes Baena began playing tennis when he was three, hitting balls with his father. The Spaniard’s dad was not a coach, but an avid tennis fan. Pio worked for 20 years in London as a restaurant manager, and he would always visit Wimbledon to watch the sport’s biggest stars in action.

Now his son will play the best player in the world on one of tennis’ grandest stages. Carballes Baena will face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the first time Monday afternoon at the US Open.

“For me it’s a great experience. I am very happy because it’s the first time I’ll play on the centre court here and I get to play against the No. 1 player in the world,” Carballes Baena told ATPTour.com, noting his excitement about competing in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I think this is the biggest stadium in the world. But I’ve played on the centre court in Barcelona and a lot of courts with a lot of people. I will try to do my best and enjoy the match.

“I will try to focus on my game and do the best to try to win the match. But for sure I will try to enjoy it a little bit, because I don’t play all the matches on centre court.”

Carballes Baena has played highly-ranked players before, including then-World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in Barcelona last year. But the Spaniard, the No. 76 player in the ATP Rankings, has never defeated a Top 10 opponent (0-3). He also knows that battling past Djokovic, who has failed to reach the US Open final just once (2014 semi-finals) in eight appearances this decade, will be a tough task.

“I’m a little bit nervous because I think he’s the most solid player in the world,” Carballes Baena said. “He plays amazing backhands, forehands, returns. He does everything good. So I don’t know, maybe tomorrow I’ll play very well and play a great match.”

The 32-year-old has watched plenty of Djokovic matches, specifically remembering the Serbian’s Australian Open final this year against Nadal and his recent Wimbledon triumph against Roger Federer. But make no mistake, regardless of the score, Carballes Baena will be battling hard, just like his idol David Ferrer.

“I spoke with him a lot of times and I tried to learn from him, because I think he’s a typical Spanish player. He fought every point, he was very solid and he ran during all the match. So I tried to learn from him and do my best,” Carballes Baena said, noting advice Ferrer gave him. “I have to work a lot, because the way I play the points I have a lot of rallies and it’s very tough, all the matches. I have to work on my fitness. My fitness is the most important thing.”

Read First-Time Winner Spotlight: Carballes Baena

Carballes Baena has followed in the footsteps of plenty of great Spaniards. At 14, he made the tough decision to move from Granada to Barcelona to improve his training.

“It was difficult because when I was 14, I think it’s very early to go out from your home. But I think it was good because I practised a lot. I think I learned a lot going there,” Carballes Baena said. “Tommy Robredo was practising there and then I was in the same room with Carreno Busta. He was there in Barcelona in the Spanish Federation. So I practised with a lot of good players.

“I think this is important because in Granada, the problem was I didn’t have partners for practice and I think in Barcelona we have a lot of players — Robredo, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Carreno Busta — so you can practise a lot and then you learn a lot from that.”

The Spaniard, who is just four spots off his career-high ATP Ranking of No. 72, is set on pushing for a breakthrough into the world’s Top 50. He carries the mindset that if he does well at tournaments, his Ranking will reflect that, and vice versa.

For now, he is focussed on Monday’s match, knowing it will be one of the most important ones in his career thus far, competing against the top seed at a Grand Slam in a stadium that holds more than 23,000 fans. And although he will try his best to focus on the match itself, he’ll also take in the moment.

“I’m a little bit nervous because I think it’s an amazing court. I practised [on it] today and yesterday a little bit,” Carballes Baena said. “I will try to play my best game. I know it’s difficult to enjoy the match because you’re running and nervous and you’re trying to win the match. But I will try to enjoy it.

“In Barcelona I have a lot of friends and my family. I think when I played against Rafa I was a little bit more nervous. But here there will be a lot of people. When you start the match, you will only think of playing tennis, you’re not looking around the court. [It’ll] be very special.”

Did You Know?
Carballes Baena won his lone ATP Tour title last year in Quito.

“It was amazing because I forgot to sign in for the main draw. And then I had to play the qualifying and then I played a lot of hard matches and I couldn’t believe it,” Carballes Baena said. “I was No. 107 and then I won my first title. For me, that was amazing.”

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and five-time champion Roger Federer open their campaigns at the US Open on Monday, as the final Grand Slam event of the season begins in Flushing Meadows.

Defending champion Djokovic will be aiming to earn his 70th victory at the hard-court Grand Slam (69-10), where he has lifted the trophy on three occasions. Last year, the Serbian defeated Juan Martin del Potro in the championship match to add to titles in 2011 and 2015 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Djokovic is bidding to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2008 to win back-to-back titles at this event. The 32-year-old will meet Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain for the first time in the opening round, where he will be aiming to extend his unbeaten record in first-round clashes at the US Open to 14 matches.

Federer arrives in New York searching for his first title at the event since 2008. The third seed will meet Sumit Nagal under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium, as he aims to secure his 40th victory of the season (39-6). A win for Federer would set up his 100th match at the event. The Swiss currently holds an 85-13 record at the hard-court Grand Slam event.

Daniil Medvedev also features in Day 1 action. The fifth-seeded Russian will be aiming to build on a stellar run on the hard courts of North America, which included three final appearances in as many weeks. After runner-up finishes at the Citi Open (l. to Kyrgios) and the Coupe Rogers (l. to Nadal), Medvedev defeated David Goffin to claim his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open and with it a place in the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings. The Russian will meet Prajnesh Gunneswaran on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

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Former champion Stan Wawrinka will face #NextGenATP talent Jannik Sinner in the opening night session match on Louis Armstrong Stadium. The 2016 winner, who became the oldest champion at the event since Ken Rosewall in 1970, will hope to improve his 12-1 record in first-round clashes at this event. Seventh seed and 2014 runner-up Kei Nishikori also begins his title bid against Marco Trungelliti on Grandstand.

Other notable matches include 11th seed Fabio Fognini’s clash with New York Open champion Reilly Opelka, Eastbourne champion Taylor Fritz will face Queen’s Club winner Feliciano Lopez and Winston-Salem Open titlist Hubert Hurkacz will be hoping to continue his run of form against Jeremy Chardy of France.

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, 26 AUGUST 2019

Arthur Ashe Stadium start 12:00
WTA Match
[1] Novak Djokovic vs Roberto Carballes Baena

Not Before 19:00
WTA Match
[3] Roger Federer vs Sumit Nagal

Louis Armstrong Stadium start 11:00
WTA Match
[5] Daniil Medvedev v Prajnesh Gunneswaran
WTA Match

Not Before 19:00
[23] Stan Wawrinka vs Jannik Sinner
WTA Match

Grandstand start 11:00
[7] Kei Nishikori vs Marco Trungelliti
WTA Match
Sam Querrey vs Juan Ignacio Londero
WTA Match

Court 17 start 11:00
WTA Match
[11] Fabio Fognini vs Reilly Opelka
WTA Match

Not Before 17:00
[26] Taylor Fritz vs Feliciano Lopez

Court 5 start 11:00
Two WTA Matches
Zachary Svajda vs Paolo Lorenzi
[21] Milos Raonic vs Nicolas Jarry

Court 10 start 11:00
WTA Match
Adrian Mannarino vs Daniel Evans
Gregoire Barrere vs Cameron Norrie
WTA Match

Court 13 start 11:00
Tomas Berdych vs Jenson Brooksby
Soonwoo Kwon vs Hugo Dellien
Two WTA Matches

Court 4 start 11:00
Two WTA Matches
[15] David Goffin vs Corentin Moutet
Yoshihito Nishioka vs Marcos Giron

Court 6 start 11:00
[17] Nikoloz Basilashvili v Marton Fucsovics
Two WTA Matches
[19] Guido Pella vs Pablo Carreno Busta

Court 7 start 11:00
[31] Cristian Garin vs Christopher Eubanks
WTA Match
[12] Borna Coric vs Evgeny Donskoy
WTA Match

Court 8 start 11:00
WTA Match
Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Alex de Minaur
Dominik Koepfer vs Jaume Munar

Court 9 start 11:00
Two WTA Matches
[25] Lucas Pouille vs Philipp Kohlschreiber
Ricardas Berankis vs Jiri Vesely

Court 11 start 11:00
Thiago Monteiro vs Bradley Klahn
WTA Match
Andreas Seppi vs Grigor Dimitrov
WTA Match

Court 12 start 11:00
Denis Kudla vs Janko Tipsarevic
Two WTA Matches
Jack Sock vs Pablo Cuevas

Court 14 start 11:00
Two WTA Matches
Laslo Djere vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Hubert Hurkacz vs Jeremy Chardy

Court 15 start 11:00
[27] Dusan Lajovic vs Steve Darcis
Two WTA Matches
Elliot Benchetrit vs Damir Dzumhur

Having won four of the past five Grand Slams, Novak Djokovic’s position on the all-time Grand Slam titles leader board is looking better than ever. And, on the eve of the US Open, the World No. 1 made it clear that he was aiming for the top spot on that list.

Djokovic arrives in Flushing Meadows with his sights set on a 17th Grand Slam crown, which, if achieved, would bring him to within one title of second-placed Rafael Nadal (18) and three shy of all-time leader Roger Federer (20).

”I’m aware of [the debate around the Grand Slam titles leaderboard]. I mean, I’m part of this world. Of course, I can’t completely switch off and eliminate what people are talking about,” said Djokovic.

”It’s flattering, obviously. But at the same time, you know, it’s still a very long way ahead of me. It does also put a certain level of responsibility to me as well, because I am aiming to do that. It’s definitely one of my ambitions and goals. I am 32, so things are a little bit different than they were 10 years ago, but I still feel young inside and outside. I am still very motivated to keep going.”

Last month, Djokovic saved two championship points to beat Federer 13-12 in the fifth set of an instant-classic Wimbledon final. The victory marked Djokovic’s fifth title run at SW19 and denied Federer a place in the history books as the oldest Grand Slam champion in the Open Era at 37 years, 340 days.

Djokovic’s win against Federer at the All England Club was his third in a Wimbledon final against his great rival (2014, ’15) and will live long in the memory of the Serbian, who shares the top half of the US Open draw with third seed Federer. Djokovic placed this year’s Wimbledon win against the Swiss alongside his 2012 Australian Open final victory against Nadal as one of the greatest matches of his career.

“It’s [in the] top two matches I have ever played… The other match is the one against Nadal in the finals of [the 2012] Australian Open which went for almost six hours,” said Djokovic. “So, those two matches really are very special and take a special place in my career and my mind as well.

“I do still have flashes from the 2012 Australian Open match still that many years after. Of course, I would wish to remember the Wimbledon final against Roger this year for many years to come.”

Due to the fast-paced nature of life on the ATP Tour, there is rarely time to take a moment to reflect on milestone victories. But Djokovic’s recent dominance at the Grand Slam level does provide the Serbian with a strong belief in his abilities and a desire to achieve even greater success in the sport.

”Once I’m done with my career or maybe slowing down the pace with tournaments, I guess I’ll have more time to really reflect on everything and look at those matches… It’s really hard to look back too much,” said Djokovic.

”Of course, you’re looking back and then it awakens certain kind of emotions that, of course, are positive and it allows you to awaken that confidence in you, the belief and the motivation. It inspires you to again keep going and trying to reach more historic results. But at the same time, you have to stay in the present moment.”

Read Draw Preview

Heading into the US Open as the defending champion for the third time in his career, the Serbian will be attempting to successfully defend his title in New York for the first time. Djokovic has reached the final in seven of his eight most recent appearances at the final Grand Slam of the year and owns a 69-10 record at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

“I, personally, have enjoyed lots of success and have been blessed to play well on these courts here at the US Open, especially the Arthur Ashe Stadium,” said Djokovic. “I have not lost too many matches in my career playing night session, and a lot of matches that I get to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium are night sessions. So, I really do enjoy that loud atmosphere that happens in there, which is quite the opposite of, for example, Wimbledon, except the last finals match.

“And I think you just adjust to it. You adapt to it. You accept it. You embrace it. I do embrace it because I think it’s good for our sport to have various different atmospheres on the centre courts of four different Grand Slams.”

With Federer and Nadal also looking to add to their Grand Slam trophy collections and stretch their lead against Djokovic, this coming fortnight could see the Grand Slam leader board dynamic change yet again. For Djokovic, his first mission will be to get past first-round opponent Roberto Carballes Baena. Achieving his ultimate goal will take time, effort and a lot more winning.