Novak Djokovic’s bid for a fourth US Open title has begun in slightly bizarre fashion, with his opponent almost incapacitated by cramp for the second half of their match.
In humid conditions in New York, 18-year-old Holger Rune had just levelled at a set apiece, when his body started to fail him.
It was the first time Rune had ever played a best of five set match, having come through qualifying to make the main draw at a grand slam tournament for the first time.
But from early in the third set the teenager could hardly move, effectively forced to stand at the baseline and hit winners, unable to chase down balls.
With Djokovic leading 5-0 in the fourth set, the world No.1 gifted Rune a game, a sympathetic move to avoid the indignity of a bagel on a rising star of the game, who could easily have quit, but battled on regardless.
Djokovic, who is bidding to complete the calendar year grand slam, closed out the win 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1.
“It was not a fair battle, so to say, on the court with his unfortunate injury and cramping,” Djokovic said.
“It’s a tough rule, as well. If you have cramps like this, that is creating such a hindrance to your game, you’re unable to move, unfortunately the rule is such that you can’t get any medical timeout for cramps.
“It’s a grey line. I understand players should do everything in order to avoid cramps. But, again, it can happen. When it happens, it doesn’t look really great for the crowd, for anybody, that he doesn’t get at least one medical timeout.
“But rules are rules, I guess.”
Djokovic was full of praise for Rune for completing the match, even though there was no chance for the Danish player to realistically compete.
“We just had a little chat in the locker room. It’s an emotional moment for him. It’s not easy to see that. He’s really sad. I understand that. I’ve been through that,” he said.
“I just told him that he handled himself extremely well. He didn’t want to stop. I thought he’s going to stop at the end of the third. He just kept going with dignity, finished off the match.
“He deserved definitely my respect, the respect of a lot of people. He’s still very, very young, 18 years old. He’s got plenty of time ahead of him. I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of him in the future.”
Rune had social media abuzz prior to the match, when he walked onto centre court carrying an IKEA bag.
“I think it’s a nice bag,” he said after the match.
“I can have all my drinks there and bananas. It just suits me well to go on court.”
The teenager said he knew as soon as the cramps began he was in trouble.
“It was (a) crazy experience, playing against Novak on Arthur Ashe is probably one of the dreams come true,” he explained.
“To be able to win one set as well was great. I had high beliefs in myself throughout the whole match. First set, I thought the score was pretty easy for him, but I thought it was a pretty good level of tennis for both.
“Unfortunately my fitness let me down. I started cramping already in the beginning of the third set. From there on was tough. I knew if I had to win, I really had to fight for every point. With my body at this point, it was impossible.”
It was Djokovic’s first match on Arthur Ashe Stadium since his now-infamous default from the 2020 US Open, after he accidentally struck a lineswoman in the throat during his fourth round match.
He now plays Tallon Griekspoor in the second round, after the Dutchman downed Jan Lennard Struff in five sets to record his first ever victory at a grand slam tournament.
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