Novak Djokovic shows off gruesome toe injury at US | Sports News

Novak Djokovic commenced his quest for a report twenty fifth Grand Slam with a straight‑units win over 19‑yr‑outdated American Learner Tien at the US Open’s opening spherical.

The Serbian legend, who made a regarding admission days earlier than the event kicked off, triumphed 6‑1, 7‑6, 6‑2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium regardless of battling a painful toe blister that required a medical timeout halfway by way of the match.

The first set was an emphatic 24‑minute showcase of Djokovic’s dominance, even making commentator John McEnroe look silly within the course of. However, the tone shifted within the second set. A bodily slowed Djokovic noticed his blistered toe develop into a issue — avoiding strains, dancing on his heels, and demanding medical consideration earlier than sealing the set in a tense tiebreaker.

At occasions during the second set, Djokovic appeared visibly compromised, bending over between factors and grimacing with discomfort.

A physio rushed onto court docket to are likely to the injury, which regarded each painful and limiting, particularly below Grand Slam stress. After the timeout and therapy, Djokovic’s motion appeared to improve.

He regained his rhythm and authority during the third set, finally pulling away with textbook effectivity. Reflecting afterward, he admitted that the bodily points caught him abruptly.

“Well, I started great. Just over 20 minutes, first set, I felt really good,” Djokovic defined. “Then some long games to start the second set, and then I start to feel really — I don’t know why. I really was surprised how bad I was feeling in the second physically. Yeah, we had long exchanges, but also, I kind of dropped my level and made a lot of unforced errors and kind of got him back into the match.”

Despite the discomfort, Djokovic discovered a solution to push by way of: “I’m glad that I kind of reset myself after the second set. The third one was okay to finish up the match. There are positives but also things that hopefully won’t happen again in terms of how I felt physically. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, because then it makes my life on the court definitely much more challenging.”

When requested if the blister itself was the primary difficulty, Djokovic downplayed its affect. “No, no, I actually wasn’t talking about the blister when I was talking about my struggles. It was more just the physical struggle on the court in the second set.

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“The blister, yeah, okay, it bothered me for a bit, but it wasn’t an issue. I’m not concerned about blister. It’s more just overall feeling of recovery after the points, long rallies wasn’t that great today.”

The conquer Tien was no small feat. Djokovic now stands at a exceptional 75 consecutive first‑spherical wins at Grand Slams, a stretch that started in 1968’s Open Era, and he will increase his Arthur Ashe Stadium report to 80 first‑spherical victories.

Learner Tien himself is no peculiar opponent. The Irvine-born 19‑yr‑outdated turned skilled in 2023 and rapidly caught consideration by making the fourth spherical at the Australian Open — the youngest man to take action since Rafael Nadal in 2005 — and defeating top-10 gamers alongside the best way.

With two days of relaxation earlier than dealing with American Zachary Svajda within the second spherical, Djokovic will hope his toe heals rapidly, as a result of the larger problem, he admits, is making sure his physique cooperates as he pushes towards historical past.