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Welcome to the U.S. Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.
On day one of the U.S. Open 2024, Novak Djokovic returned to Arthur Ashe, fan movement paid dividends, and court assignments caused consternation.
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How is Novak Djokovic feeling after Olympic triumph?
A first-round Grand Slam match isn’t the best bellwether for the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s mood or form. Even less so against Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot, who had gone beyond the first round in New York on just one occasion in 12. His record stays at one after this, with Djokovic rolling to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
“I struggled with my serve, and with the rhythm on certain shots,” Djokovic said, referring to the transition between clay and hard courts after the Olympics, where he won gold. He said that he wanted to be challenged in the early rounds, which will be easier said than done for his opponents, including fellow Serbian Laslo Djere, who is up next. Djere and Djokovic played out a memorable five-set match in 2023, in which Djere went up two sets before Djokovic did what he often does, locking in to win the next three.
Djokovic now has the most wins of any male player in Arthur Ashe Stadium, with 78 from 89 attempts. Serena Williams bests him with 103, but Djokovic’s win percentage is higher by a hair, at 87.6 per cent vs. 87.3 per cent.
Novak Djokovic was not particularly extended in his opening round match. (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)
James Hansen
Will Maria Sakkari reverse her Grand Slam slump next year?
At the Australian Open in January 2025, it’ll be three years since Maria Sakkari, the world No. 9, last reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
After Monday’s first-round retirement against Wang Yafan, with what appeared to be a shoulder injury, Sakkari has failed to reach the last 16 in 11 straight majors. In five of those, the Greek lost in the first round.
And yet since the start of October 2021, she has been in the top 10 for all but a single week. That run could carry on even after Monday’s defeat, because Sakkari also went out at this stage last year, meaning that she has no ranking points to defend. Despite this sustained period of dreadful results at the slams, Sakkari keep keeps picking up just enough points at other events to maintain her place in the top 10, including winning a Masters 1000 event in Guadalajara last September that accounts for just under 33 percent of her 3,515 ranking points. It was only the second title of Sakkari’s career, and the first since a 250 event in 2019.
Maria Sakkari has been unable to arrest a slide in her Grand Slam runs. (Mike Stobe / Getty Images)
Perhaps the more pertinent question is whether points should be more weighted in the favour of the Grand Slam tournaments, to better reward results at the very highest level. This has been a talking point in tennis pretty much since ranking points were introduced in the 1973, with former world No. 1 Dinara Safina admitting that she suffered from being ridiculed by fans who couldn’t believe a top-ranked player could be there without a Grand Slam title.
Sakkari merits her place in the rankings for her overall body of work over the last year, but it’s understandable why casual fans find it confusing that a player can underperform so consistently in the biggest events without falling down the rankings.
Charlie Eccleshare
Fans of movement?
The U.S. Open is hardly a sea of tennis calm.
Planes fly overhead. Trains whizz by the stadium. There’s music blasting in the plaza. Fans are basically never quiet.
This year the tournament is taking it a step further, allowing fans to move around the upper levels of stadiums during points. In the lower levels, fans can enter and exit at the end of each game, rather than waiting for the changeover. This follows the policy of the Australian Open, when the sun continued to rise in the east and fans didn’t have to wait three games at the beginning of a set to return to their seats from the toilet.
Fans packed into the bleachers and viewing galleries on a record attendance day for the U.S. Open. (Julia Nikhinson / Associated Press)
Once more, the players said it was no big deal. Coco Gauff said she asked her opponent, Varvara Gracheva, to wait to serve while someone in a white shirt found their seat; she was worried about losing sight of the ball. Beyond that, it was no real bother, and a boon to a record single-day attendance of just over 75,000.
“The fan experience is important,” she said. “Those three games sometimes go, like, 20 minutes.”
Matt Futterman
What’s in a court?
In July, Barbora Krejcikova won Wimbledon, the second Grand Slam of her career. At the U.S. Open, her first Grand Slam as reigning Wimbledon champion, Krejcikova played on Court 5.
An outer court.
Not one of the show courts like Ashe, Armstrong or Grandstand.
When asked about this assignment, Krejcikova didn’t mince words.
“It’s a Court 5,” she said.
Krejcikova hasn’t shied away from expressing her feelings about a perceived lack of respect for her exploits. After she won the French Open in 2021, she felt left out of discussions about the top of the game, and in turn left off the show courts that help lesser-known but winning players gain popularity.
That was when she only had one Slam, and now, three years later, she is experiencing the same situation.
“I love to play on the bigger courts but I’m playing on Court 5,” Krejcikova said. “I need to get a little bit further in some matches and then hopefully I can play on the biggest stages.”
Krejcikova defeated Marina Bassois Ribera 7-6(3), 6-2, in her first match playing on hard courts after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It was a very difficult match but I’m happy with the outcome,” she said. The Czech plays qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round.
Lukas Weese
Shot of the day
Just when you thought Grigor Dimitrov was out, the ball goes back in.
Recommended reading
U.S. Open day one: Men’s results
U.S. Open day one: Women’s results
Tell us what you noticed on the first day…
(Top photo of Novak Djokovic: Kena Betancur / Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton for The Athletic)
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