Djokovic shrugs off injury to win NY opener
Novak Djokovic beat Ricardas Berankis 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 at the Western & Southern Open.
NEW YORK (AFP) - World number one Novak Djokovic shook off neck pain to beat Ricardas Berankis 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 on Monday to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
The Serb star had pulled out of doubles on Sunday with pain in his neck, and he had treatment during the match for a problem that seemed to bother him when he looked up at his service toss.
Twice down a break in the second set he was able to immediately break back both times, and he let out a roar when he broke Lithuania s Berankis for a 5-4 lead before calmly serving out the match.
In the round of 16 on Tuesday, Djokovic will face American Tennys Sandgren, a 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) winner over 15th-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in this tournament moved from Cincinnati to New York and the same quarantine bubble that will house the US Open starting on August 31.
- Murray topples Zverev to reach last 16 -
Britain s Andy Murray notched his first win over a top-10 player in more than three years on Monday, ousting world number seven Alexander Zverev at the Western & Southern Open.
Murray was facing defeat when Zverev served for the match at 5-4 in the third, but won three straight games for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory and a place in the last 16 of the tournament moved this year from Cincinnati to New York to be held in the same quarantine bubble where the US Open will begin on August 31.
Murray won the Cincinnati Masters in 2008 and 2011, but the former world number one is now ranked 129th after a string of injuries, including a pelvic injury at the Davis Cup last November that, combined with the ATP s pandemic shutdown, kept him out of competition until this week.
Murray closed out the match with back-to-back winners, the last a backhand up the line on match point.
It was his first top 10 victory since he beat Japan s Kei Nishikori at Roland Garros in 2017. Since then he has undergone two hip surgeries and played just two matches against top 10 foes.
In the next round he ll face big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic.
- Krajinovic stuns second-seeded Thiem -
Serbia s Filip Krajinovic bounced second-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem from the Western & Southern Open on Monday with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Krajinovic dropped just two service points on the way to victory in the tournament moved from Cincinnati to New York to put players in the same quarantine bubble that will house the US Open starting on August 31.
Thiem, who pushed Novak Djokovic to five sets in a runner-up finish at the Australian Open in January, couldn t find his rhythm in his first match since the ATP tour resumed after a five-month coronavirus hiatus.
Krajinovic, ranked 32nd in the world, took full advantage to post just his second career victory over a top-10 player.
