US Open 2018 Day 2: Federer, Djokovic Progress, Sharapova Survives Scare

US Open pre-tournament favorites Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were in action in the second day with both players progressing to the second round albeit in contrasting fashion.

The Swiss ace dispatched Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in just under two hours to book a place in the next round against Frenchman Benoit Paire. It was a cruise for Federer, who is looking to win his first title at Flushing Meadows since 2008.

The 20-time men’s singles Grand Slam champion maintained his record of never losing in the first round at the US Open with his win over the Japanese player. He is now 18-0 in the first round at Flushing Meadows.

Federer raised a lot of eyebrows when he mentioned the word retire in his post-match interview, but made it clear it was only a joke pertaining to his first round win record.

"That was meaning, like, 'I never lost a first-round match here at the Open. I won all my 18. You don't want that (loss) to happen next year.' I said, 'Maybe I could retire now, because I protect my 18 first-round wins here.' That's what I meant with it," Federer said, according to ESPN. "It's a total joke, yes."

It was not smooth sailing for Djokovic, however, in his match against Márton Fucsovics as he battled nausea in the sweltering heat. The Serbian needed four sets to dispatch his first round opponent and admitted after that the 10-minute break between the sets — a new US Open rule owing to the conditions — was a much needed one.

Unlike Day 1 of the US Open, where there were two major exits in the form of women’s world number one Simona Halep losing to Kaia Kanepi and Grigor Dimitrov falling to unseeded Stan Wawrinka, there were no upsets on Day 2.

Maria Sharapova overcame a scare from WTA Tour veteran Patty Schnyder to progress to the second round and she was joined by world number two Caroline Wozniacki, who beat former US Open champion Sam Stosur. 2016 winner and reigning Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber also came through in straight sets against Margarita Gasparyan.

In the men’s draw, Adrian Mannarino was the only seeded player to get knocked out in the second day with the number 29 falling to home favorite Francis Tiafoe. It was the young American’s first win at the US Open having lost in the first round in his last three attempts.

It was smooth sailing for the other seeded players with Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Nick Kyrgios, Fabio Fognini and Kei Nishikori among others progressing without any trouble.

There is a mouth-watering clash brewing in the third round with Australia’s Kyrgios potentially facing a showdown with Federer if both the players win their respective second round matches against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Paire on Thursday.