US Open 2024 Day One Recap

Day one at the 2024 US Open is complete, and defending champion Novak Djokovic’s start was solid enough. He started his campaign with a 6-2 6-2 6-4 win over qualifier Radu Albot.

Sascha Zverev also advanced to round two, along with the seeded Rublev, Ruud, Dimitrov, Fritz, Shelton, Humbert, Musetti, Tiafoe, Baez, and Lehecka.

However, there were two seeded casualties: Holger Rune (15) lost to the in-form Nakashima, and Jerry Shang took out 27th seed Sascha Bublik in five sets.

You can see the full list of results from day one below.

Day One US Open 2024 Round of 128 Results

Shelton Sends Home Thiem

There are just a handful more tournaments left for Dominic Thiem until he hangs up his racket as he was brushed aside at the US Open by Ben Shelton.

Shelton delivered a commanding victory over the former champion, winning 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the second round.

Thiem, who was playing his final US Open match before retiring later this year, received a warm send-off from the crowd. While he showed glimpses of the game we once loved, he’s not the same player anymore.

After a close-ish first set, Shelton was dominant, winning 91 per cent (41/45) of his first-serve points and hitting 34 winners compared to Thiem’s 11.

It was also Diego Schwartzman’s last foray in New York, and while his drop off is not quite as dramatic at Thiem’s, he too is no longer near the level he produced a few years ago as Gael Monfils cleared him out in four sets.

It has been 10 years since I first played here. It is actually a really important moment for me because I had my greatest success here on this court—in that weird 2020, in strange and different circumstances. Unfortunately, I had this success without any of you [the fans] here. It was an amazing moment, but, on the other hand, it was a bit sad, so I am super happy I got the chance to play my last US Open match on this court. Thiem speaking on court after his loss.

I want to say congrats to Domi and his team on an outstanding Grand Slam career. Four finals and a title is something only kids can dream about, sitting on the couch at home, which was me not too long ago. It could not happen to better people. I always see Domi’s face smiling and your team does it the right way. I am sorry this is that way this ended but congrats on everything. You have so much to be proud of Shelton on Thiem.

Djokovic Starts Title Defence

Novak Djokovic began his US Open title defence with a fairly straightforward win. This was Djokovic’s first match on hard courts since Indian Wells, so he didn’t produce his cleanest tennis, but his trademark control was still too good for Albot. He came through 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in just over two hours, finishing shortly before midnight.

Albot just doesn’t have the weapons to trouble someone like Novak. Despite making 40 unforced errors and 11 double faults, he only dropped eight games.

The Moldovan briefly threatened in the second set when he broke Djokovic back to level the score at 2-2 and led 40-0 on serve, but Novak responded with a series of aggressive returns to win five consecutive points, reclaiming his lead, and he came out the match without further drama.

I wanted to kickstart the tournament correctly, and I think I did. There are some ups and downs, which I think are normal, getting the rust off your shoulders coming off a different surface and the Olympic Games. I haven’t played on hard courts for six months, so I’m still finding that groove, finding the tempo on the court. Djokovic on his start.

Nakashima Routs Rune

Brandon Nakashima pulled off the biggest upset on day one of the US Open, dispatching Holger Rune 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.

This is the second straight year that the Dane exited in the opening round, and this was an extremely poor performance from him, especially after making the semi-finals in Cincinnati last week. Just 39% of first serves landed.

Other Matches of Note

Zverev Moves Past Marterer: A set dropped, but a dominant serving display from Sascha Zverev as he came through 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 against lucky loser Maximilian Marterer.

Rublev Sinks Seyboth Wild: An impressive win for Rublev to come through in straight sets 6-3 7-6(3) 7-5, considering the Brazilian took him five sets at the Australian Open.

Ruud Overcomes Yunchaokete: After a very close first set, Ruud took charge, winning 88% behind his first serve to come through 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2, in 2 hours, 14 minutes to advance to the second round.

Fritz Userps Ugo Carabelli: The American defeated Ugo Carabelli, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, with a solid serving display; 80% won his first serve while breaking his opponent’s serve 7 times.

Dimitrov Downs Jacquet: The Bulgarian had 11 aces and 37 winners as he cruised past Kyrian Jacquet 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The Frenchman’s serve was powder puff stuff for Grigor, who looked lethargic for the most part but was able to dictate easily.

Musetti defeats Opelka: 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 for the Italian in a match of two contrasting styles. Musetti’s blocked returns and dipping passing shots helped him negate the power of Opelka’s come-forward style.

US Open 2024 Day 2 Round of 128 Matches