Novak Djokovic had a short night in his first singles match in the US since 2021, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday in the Western and Southern Open after the Spaniard retired early in the second set.
The second-ranked Djokovic won the first set 6-4, then two points into the second set, Fokina hunched over in pain with a lower back injury.
“Kind of mixed emotions tonight (Wednesday),” Djokovic, who had lost in doubles on Tuesday on his return to the country after missing events because of Covid-19 vaccine restrictions, said.
Wednesday was his first singles match since losing to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon last month. The winner of 23 grand slam singles titles — a men’s record — Djokovic will face Frenchman Gael Monfils, who is 0-18 lifetime against him, on Thursday.
Among the women, top-ranked Iga Swiatek had an encouraging start to the week, beating American qualifier Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-0.
The Pole, who has never reached the quarter finals in Cincinnati, will next face Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round after the Chinese rallied to defeat 43-year-old Venus Williams 1-6, 6-2, 6-1.