SUMMARY
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NEW YORK, USA – Top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the second round while French Open champion Ashleigh Barty and third seed Karolina Pliskova struggled but advanced.
Serbian star Djokovic, who has won 4 of the past 5 Grand Slam singles titles, dispatched Spain’s 76th-ranked Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
“Getting out of the blocks, it takes time for you to feel comfortable on the court,” Djokovic said. “I’m quite pleased with my performance and looking forward to the next one.”
Djokovic, trying to become the first back-to-back US Open winner since Federer won from 2004-2008, will next face Argentina’s 56th-ranked Juan Ignacio Londero.
Djokovic owns 16 Grand Slam titles and is chasing the record 20 won by Federer with Spain’s Rafael Nadal on 18. Together the “Big Three” have won the past 11 Slam titles and are again heavy favorites.
Australian second seed Barty overcame a horrible start to oust 80th-ranked Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Barty made 19 unforced errors to drop the first set in 28 minutes, but took nine of the last 11 games to book a date with American Lauren Davis.
“I was really pleased to be able to solve this riddle,” said Barty. “Zarina was able to put me in difficult positions.”
Pliskova, a 2016 US Open runner-up, edged 138th-ranked Czech compatriot Tereza Martincova 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/3) after exchanging service breaks over the first six games.
“Not my best performance today for sure,” Pliskova said. “Not happy that I lost three breaks of serve in a row. That’s not possible for next time.”
She faces Georgian qualifier Mariam Bolkvadze next. – Rappler.com
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