Novak Djokovic ensured he will return to the top of the world tennis rankings with an emphatic victory on his return to the US Open as women's defending champion Iga Swiatek and American rival Coco Gauff advanced.
Djokovic, chasing a record 24th Grand Slam singles title in New York, shrugged off a late-night start on Arthur Ashe Stadium to demolish France's Alexandre Muller 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 in just one hour 35 minutes.
The win means Djokovic is guaranteed to replace defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz as world No 1 when the rankings are next updated after the tournament.
The 36-year-old Serbian is playing in New York for the first time since suffering an agonizing defeat in the 2021 final against Daniil Medvedev. He was barred from entry to the United States in 2022 for his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and was unable to play the US Open.
Djokovic yesterday played like a man making up for lost time, reeling off 32 winners and breaking Muller eight times in a lopsided encounter that finished at around 12.40am.
Djokovic said he was unfazed by the late start to his game.
"I didn't care if I started after midnight because I was looking forward to this moment, to be out on the biggest stadium in our sport, the loudest stadium in our sport, playing night session," Djokovic said.
"It was a great joy to be stepping out on the court.
"I think the performance explains how I felt, particularly in the first two sets. It was kind of lights-out tennis really, almost flawless, perfect first set."
Djokovic's arrival on court had been delayed by a grueling three-set battle between the 19-year-old Gauff and Germany's Laura Siegemund.
Gauff was forced to dig deep before winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in almost three hours.
An ill-tempered clash was marked by tetchy confrontations by both players with chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.
Gauff accused the official of failing to properly enforce time-violation rules against Siegemund.
"I felt like the rules were being bent," Gauff said. "That's why a lot of players get mad when these time violations are called because one ref is letting them go over, the other is more strict on the time."
Siegemund, 35, meanwhile voiced disgust at the partisan New York crowd, describing them as "respectless" for the way they cheered every error or missed first serve. "They had no respect for me, no respect for the way I played, no respect for the player that I am, they had no respect for good tennis," Siegemund complained.
Poland's Swiatek, 22, needed less than hour to defeat Sweden's Rebecca Peterson 6-0, 6-1.
There was also a win for former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, making her first Grand Slam appearance in over three years. The 33-year-old Danish mother of two, who came out of retirement earlier this month, defeated Russian qualifier Tatiana Prozorova 6-3, 6-2.
However, Greek eighth seed Maria Sakkari was an early casualty, beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Spain's Rebeka Masarova, ranked 71st in the world.
Novak Djokovic eases into the second round, Coco Gauff complains over the umpire's failure to enforce time-violation rules against her opponent, and Caroline Wozniacki marches on. AP, REUTERS
