Novak Djokovic sent a tremor of concern through Flushing Meadows on Sunday when he pulled out of the doubles at the relocated Western & Southern Open with a neck strain, a week before the start of the US Open.
Shortly before he was due to partner his compatriot, Filip Krajinovic, against the Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, the world No 1 decided not to risk aggravating a problem that surfaced after he arrived in New York. They made way for their fellow Serbs, Dusan Lajovic and Nikola Cacic.
Djokovic is due to play the 72nd-ranked Ricardas Berankis in the singles on Monday if fit. They last met when the Serb won in three quick sets at the US Open seven years ago, although he will be more concerned about staying healthy for that slam, which starts on 31 August and where he is the clear favourite.
Dan Evans continued his run of fine midsummer form to beat the No10 seed Andrey Rublev 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, and join Andy Murray in the second round, where he will play the 29-year-old Canadian Milos Raonic. It was the Birmingham player’s sixth win over a top-20 player in this disjointed season.
“Dan has played such intelligent tennis in a high-standard match,” said the former British No 1 Annabel Croft courtside.
Evans, who beat Rublev when they met in the Dubai quarter-finals before the Tour was suspended, let him off the hook three times before nailing the first set with a one-handed backhand winner that kissed the line. The Russian rediscovered his vaunted serve to level at a set each before Evans drove on to the line with guile and craft in just over two-and-a-half hours on a hot, humid afternoon.
Raonic, who lost to Murray in the 2016 Wimbledon final and has struggled to hold a place in the top 20, might be considered a sitting duck, given his wretched run with injuries (and three operations). But he is always dangerous behind one of the biggest serves in tennis.
Evans said: “It was a long one, tough to get rid of him. He was hanging around. I didn’t serve great but hung in and got the win. It took me a while but I’m happy how I played in the third set. Raonic is probably a little less physical. Everyone knows how good he is.”
His ATP Cup captain, Tim Henman, demands a lot of Evans and said it was “stretching it” to see him reach the top 10. The player does not feel that pressure and said later: “That’s probably one of the better wins I’ve had on Tour. Obviously I look to get further up the rankings, but there are so many obstacles in the way. If you keep beating those players you give yourself a good chance, but I don’t look at the rankings week by week, match by match. That was an incredibly hard match today, but I didn’t even look at his ranking.”
Murray, meanwhile, looks in decent shape for a serious test on Monday against the world No 7 Alexander Zverev. Much has changed for both of them since Murray waltzed through their only match, four years ago in the first round of the Australian Open. While the two-time Western & Southern Open champion is still guarding his rebuilt hip, he said after beating Frances Tiafoe in three sets on day one: “I moved pretty well. My tennis could have been better.”
Johanna Konta, bumped up to No 8 seed after a slew of withdrawals, starts her campaign in the second round against the qualifier Kirsten Flipkens, who beat Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-3. Konta’s only loss in five matches against the Belgian was in Monterrey four years ago.
The heartwarming tale of day two was Vera Zvonareva’s return to the tournament at 35, nine years after reaching the semi-finals. This time the former Wimbledon and US Open finalist, now ranked 268, beat the world No 35 Magda Linette in three sets.