Novak Djokovic began his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a routine victory over Radu Albot at the US Open on Monday, before bemoaning his late arrival on court.
Djokovic, who has not played since winning Olympic gold at the Paris Games almost one month ago, shook off the rust to ease past Moldovan qualifier Albot 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round, but the two-hour and seven-minute match stretched until midnight at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The pair were unable to take to the court until late due to Clara Burel's comeback win over former champion Sloane Stephens, who crumbled in three sets after leading 6-0, 3-0.
“Well, I don't think that ageing helps really staying so late and playing very late,” the 37-year-old Serb said. “I can feel, you know, my batteries are low now. I'm shutting down.
“But it's been a long wait, to be honest. I thought I was going to go out on the court, like, 8.15pm because Stephens was 6-0, 3-0 serving and then all of a sudden it turns out to be a two-and-a-half hour match or whatever.
“You just have to accept it, I guess. I like playing night matches, but I love to start first. So hopefully I get more chances to play at night and am scheduled first so we can start at a more decent time and finish at a more decent time.
“I guess for the fans there is something special about late-night finishes, particularly post-midnight. For us, I don't know. It's not really what you want but if you get a W [win], then it's all good.”
Djokovic returned to the court for his first hard-court match since March at Indian Wells, yet buoyed by completing the career golden Grand Slam by winning the Olympic title at Roland Garros.
Though easily accounting for Albot, the second seed's lack of warm-up matches showed as he served up 10 double-faults and racked up nearly twice as many unforced errors as winners.
“It's always challenging to start, particularly when you haven't played on this surface for five, six months and coming off an Olympic gold and playing on clay,” Djokovic said. “I'm expecting to be probably challenged a little bit more in the opening rounds.
“The good thing about Slams is you have a day between matches where you can train, where you can really work on things and perfect your game. That's what I need.”
Most of Djokovic's fellow seeds booked their places in the second round, with German world No 4 Alexander Zverev, Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud, American No 1 Taylor Fritz, and Bulgarian world No 9 Grigor Dimitrov all marching on.
The one shock on the opening day saw Danish 15th seed Holger Rune eliminated by American world No 50 Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Gauff opens title defence in style
In the women's draw, defending champion Coco Gauff powered into the second round with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over France's Varvara Gracheva.
The 20-year-old American fired 10 aces and needed just 66 minutes to beat 66th-ranked Gracheva. She saved eight break points, including two with aces in the final game.
“It is definitely a lot of pressure this tournament but I'm just enjoying it,” said Gauff, who is seeded third behind Polish world No 1 Iga Swiatek and Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka.
“Last year was incredible, so I'm just bringing those vibes and whatever happens, happens.”
Gauff has battled through an erratic season since capturing her maiden major last year. Her tune-up tournaments saw her fall in the third round in Toronto before she crashed out of her first match as the defending champion in Cincinnati.
“The last few weeks have been a little bit tough,” Gauff said. “But today was the best tennis I've played in a while.”
Australian Open champion Sabalenka cruised into the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon.
Wimbledon winner Barbora Krejcikova, seeded eighth, also eased through, securing a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Spanish qualifier Marina Bassols Ribera.
Olympic women's singles gold medallist Zheng Qinwen of China, seeded seventh, rallied from a set down to beat Amanda Anisimova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
