Novak Djokovic got his US Open charge under way with a routine dismissal Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets.
Fourth seed passes tricky opening test; fellow seeds prevail
Novak Djokovic looked sharp as he routinely dismissed Ivan Ljubicic in straights sets to get his US Open title charge under way.
The number four seed took just one hour and thirty seven minutes to complete the 6-3 6-1 6-3 victory and the talented Serbian welcomes either Carlston Ball or Juan Pablo Brzezicki in the next round.
Djokovic has gone under the radar as a potential Flushing Meadows champion this year, but the 2007 US Open finalist laid down a marker to his major rivals with a comprehensive win over a tricky opponent.
The 22-year-old former Australian Open champion dominated the contest from the outset, firing down big serves and electrifying groundstrokes to overpower the rangy Croatian.
Ljubicic, who once reached number three in the rankings, failed to get his huge serve going and Djokovic soon pounced on the 30-year-old, racing into a 3-0 lead before his opponent finally found his footing, and managed to keep the rest of the set on serve.
Perfect start
Ljubicic sent a forehand wide to give Djokovic three set points and, though he saved the first, an ace from the Serb gave him a deserved one-set lead.
Djokovic was immediately on top in the second set, and it was not long when Ljubicic, serving at 5-1 down, hacked an overhead wide to hand the set to his opponent.
Ljubicic managed to keep things closer in the third - it went with serve until game eight when the Serb finally broke to put him 5-3 up and he quickly established two match points before sealing the win with an ace.
"I knew I had to concentrate from the start," Djokovic told
Sky Sports after the match.
"Usually, in the last couple of Grand Slams I have played I have had a very slow start, so today I was aware of his quality, but overall my game was great today."
Fellow seeds Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic also got their US Open campaign's under way with straight set wins, while Viktor Troicki took five sets to book his spot in round two.
Spanish 10th seed Verdasco beat Germany's Benjamin Becker 7-5 6-4 7-5 while number 16 seed Cilic saw off Ryan Sweeting of the USA 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
30th seed Troicki needed to go all the way to overcome Australian Peter Luczak, the Serbian victorious with a 6-3 6-3 1-6 2-6 6-1 result.
