Clinical Djokovic wins on his return at US Open

It has been two years since Novak Djokovic last stepped on the court of Flushing Meadows and when he did it was with a bang.

The Serb was invincible in his outing against Alexandre Muller as he swept past the Frenchman in straight sets 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 in the last match of Day 1 on Monday night.

All business from Novak Djokovic in Round 1! pic.twitter.com/x4aP1kMSkr

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2023

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The 36-year-old had to wait a long time for his match to start as Coco Gauff was finishing her 3-match game, but in the end it was worth it as the 23-time Grand Slam winner showed his usual class and mercilessness.

“Well, I knew it was going to be a late night for me, late start of the match,” Djokovic said. “Nevertheless, I mean, I was excited to go out on the court. I didn’t care if I started after midnight because I was looking forward to this moment for a few years, to be out on the biggest stadium in our sport, the loudest stadium in our sport, playing the night session.”

The No. 2 seed took the first set in just 23 minutes and won the first eight games before Muller finally got on the board, raising his arms in triumph after cutting it to 2-1 in the second set.

Victory means Djokovic will return at the No.1 spot in the world as he had no ranking points to defend from last year. Therefore, the only thing he was required to do is reach round 2, which he promptly did.