Novak Djokovic admitted he “did not feel that great” about his tennis at times as he fought back from a set down to beat American qualifier Zachary Svajda and reach the US Open third round.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion appeared subdued in the early stages of the match but eventually powered through to a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3 6-1 win.
A 25th major trophy would secure the Serb the standalone record for the most Grand Slam singles titles in history.
He has already set another record in New York in reaching the third round at a major for the 75th time – one more than Roger Federer’s tally.
“I didn’t feel that great to be honest,” Djokovic, 38, said.
“I wasn’t happy with my tennis for the first part of the match, but also credit to Zach for playing some really high-quality tennis.”
Prior to his first-round victory, Djokovic had not played since losing in the Wimbledon semi-finals to Jannik Sinner in early July.
“I’m hoping the deeper I go into the tournament the better I feel about my game,” Djokovic said.
“It’s obviously a little different in the past couple of years for me body-wise.
“I get wear and tear quicker than I ever used to so I have to deal with that, a lot of recovery stuff to try to make myself able to perform at the highest level.”
Playing in the morning session on Arthur Ashe Stadium – an unfamiliar timeslot for a player accustomed to headlining the tournament’s coveted night session – Djokovic seemed out-of-sorts in the bright sunshine.
The seventh seed had looked fatigued in his first-round match and seemed hampered by similar issues early on against home hope Svajda.
The world number 145 went viral before the match after posting a video of his excitement about playing Djokovic but he showed no signs of being overawed, holding his nerve to edge the first set.
But Djokovic, as he so often does, immediately responded, and reeled off 11 of the final 12 games as Svajda struggled with cramp.
Fritz advances but Ruud beaten
Like Djokovic, last year’s runner-up Taylor Fritz also dropped the first set but came through 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 6-4 against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris.
Fourth seed Fritz, the highest-ranked American in the men’s singles draw, will now face Jerome Kym after the Swiss qualifier upset 30th seed Brandon Nakashima of the USA in a marathon four hours and 20 minutes.
Twelfth seed Casper Ruud became the second-highest men’s seed to fall so far, losing in five sets to Belgium’s Raphael Collignon.
World number 107 Collignon, playing in his first Grand Slam main draw, came back to win 6-4 3-6 3-6 6-4 7-5 against the 2022 US Open runner-up.
It completes a miserable year of Grand Slam results for Norwegian Ruud, who also lost in the second round of the Australian and French Open, and missed Wimbledon with a knee injury.
Collignon now meets 20th seed Jiri Lehecka, who progressed with a 3-6 6-0 6-2 6-4 win over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Meanwhile, 21st seed Tomas Machac saw off rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca in 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-3.
The 19-year-old Fonseca, backed by a boisterous fan base on the Grandstand court, had a set point in the opener but Machac held firm to prevail.
