• US Open, Day Two

What they Said

ESPN staff
August 30, 2011
Sabine Lisicki was in impressive form in her first round © PA Photos
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US Open: Day Two gallery
Men's round-up: Djokovic through
Women's round-up: Wozniacki impresses
British women: Baltacha battles through
What They Said
Plays of the Day: Double trouble

Novak Djokovic spent just 44 minutes on court as his opponent Conor Niland retired and after a tough year, the world No. 1 is happy with outcome. He said: "I don't think I'm lacking any time on the court or matches. This year has been a very long year. So I really don't mind that I spend less time on the court. I think I've played well for these 45, 50 minutes that we had on the court. It's unfortunate for my opponent, obviously. He had food poisoning he told me after the match. But I felt great on the court, and that's something that's really important for the start of the tournament."

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga opened up with a straight-sets win over Yen-hsun Lu and he was happy with his start to the tournament. He said: "It was really good. It was a tough first match and it was hot. It was a tough opponent and I am pleased to get through in three sets. I had a good preparation, played well in Montreal but not so Cincinnati. But that gave me time to practice and recover and I feel like I can play well at the US Open."

Caroline Wozniacki opened up with a comfortable win and hit back at her critics, insisting she is aware she needs to improve but will not overhaul the game that has got her to No. 1. She said: "They can say what they want. I'm the type of player I am. I've won a lot of tournaments. I'm No. 1 in the world, and of course I can still improve. There are a lot of things to my game I can still improve, but everyone can. You know, I'm on the right track. I just go out there and I play the way I do, and, you know, hopefully that's good enough.

"It's actually been nice the last three, four weeks because I haven't gotten any questions about No. 1. So, you know, now I know that I'm back on track. I know that everyone has to write their stories, but I think we should move on. Ask me about something else, something more interesting.

"It was important for me to serve well, and I thought I started quite a few good points with my serve. And, you know, she's not a very tall player, so I tried to open up the court a little bit more and then tried to take advantage of the short balls that I got."

Conor Niland's big day against Novak Djokovic was spoiled by a bout of food poisoning that forced him to retire. He said: "Sunday night I woke up and had a bout of food poisoning and it has continued for a couple of days. I've not been able to keep anything down, it's been a lot of trips to the doctors and medication. It was an impossible task today. I felt pretty rotten out there. If it was a regular challenger event I would not have played. If I'd been working in an office I would definitely have had a sickie. I had nothing in my legs and felt I would throw up after any sort of rally."

Sabine Lisicki was too good for Alona Bondarenko and now has Venus Williams to contend with in round two. Lisicki said: "I haven't seen her play yesterday because, you know, I was practicing. That was my only hit. But we played twice, and twice we had a very, very good match. So, you know, I think it really depends who plays better that given day and that person will win, I think. That's my opinion. That's how it was the last two times. I played better the first time and she played a little bit better the second time we played. So, you know, that's for sure going to be a nice match.

"I just want to fight and play my best and see what happens. You know, the Williams sisters always play well at the Grand Slams, and you can never underestimate them. So, you know, it's for sure going to be a tough match. A very good challenge. But, you know, if you want to succeed, you have to beat the best."

Victoria Azarenka breezed past Johanna Larsson but feels she has much to improve on. She said: "There's always things to improve. There are always things that could have been done better, but I think I had a pretty solid start. I kept control of the match, so it's important, you know, to have that control in the opening rounds.

"I think hard court really suit my game. I like to be aggressive. I like to dominate and be in control of the points. The surface is a little bit faster than probably the clay, but I don't know. I like hard courts. Plus, it's the surface we play the most during the year, so I think everybody is more prepared for hard courts than for any other surfaces.

"The motivation is always there. I haven't achieved my goals, so I cannot complain about the motivation's going down. It's an important tournament for me. I always take it match by match. But, you know, I have been closer to my goals, so I can only look and stay positive and keep getting better

Rafael Nadal was forced on to the back foot for much of his opening round match against Andrey Golubev, but ultimately prevailed in three sets. He said: "I was a little lucky to win in straight sets. He was a very difficult player to play. He played very fast."

"I am playing with very high illusion here, high motivation. But, you know, I need time. Everybody knows it's not easy to lose five finals this year. And at the same time I am happy that even if I was losing that finals, I keep doing well. I lost the final, but next week I was in another final and next week in another final.

"Wasn't big mental problem for me. I accepted really well the losses during the season. But for sure after Wimbledon I had to stop for one month, not play tennis.

"The illusion always after long season for me since Indian Wells to Wimbledon, you know, is the body stays tired, the mental part stays tired. I played all the matches during this part of the season, all the finals, and losing a few ones."

Serena Williams barely lost a game in her opening round victory, but was pleased to simply play in her first match at Flushing Meadows since her 2009 meltdown over a foot fault. She said: "I'm so happy to be here. I didn't think I would make it. I'm always nervous in the first round and I was nervous out there tonight. I think I could have played better. I was just out there."

Elena Baltacha fought through to claim a three-set win and had sympathy for her opponent Jamie Hampton who collapsed with cramp. She said: "I went through that in Doha a couple of years ago. It starts as a calf cramp and then works its way up. Before you know it, reaching your abdominal area and then it's going into a full body cramp. She couldn't even get up."

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