Novak Djokovic US Open prediction made by ESPN tennis pundit
NOVAK DJOKVIC will only grow stronger as the US Open progresses, says ESPN tennis pundit Mary Joe Fernandez.
US Open: Pundits praise officials for applying heat rule for men
Djokovic is hoping to continue his momentum by claiming his 14th career Grand Slam title in New York.
The Serbian won Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Masters over the last couple of months but struggled with the heat during his opening match against Marton Fucsovics.
Despite calling a medical timeout, the Serbian rallied to progress to the second round, setting up a tie with Tennys Sandgren.
It is widely expected Djokovic will play during the night session tomorrow to prevent any similar problems.
And Fernandez, a former world No 4, believes Djokovic will not be affected by the heat as much in further games.
“He willed himself in that victory yesterday. He did not look good in that match,” Fernandez told ESPN.
“The heat got to him and he was having double ice packs.
“He was fortunate that the USTA put the rule in effect yesterday that they got a break between the third and the fourth set.
“He refreshed and took an ice-bath.
“I expect moving forward he is going to be a little bit stronger. He is going to play at night.
“Sometimes you can train as hard as you want and you just get hit by the heat at any moment.”
Meanwhile, Djokovic is also hoping to play later in the day in the later rounds.
“Later in the day, yeah,” Djokovic said.
“The Grand Slams are different, obviously, because you have so many matches.
“You have 128 players, men's and women's, in the draw, have doubles coming up, mixed doubles.
“Sure, we have plenty of match courts. At the same time you have to justify the schedule and tickets and all these things.
“It's not as simple as let's just move one match three, four, five hours later. There's a lot going on, TVs, stuff like this, contracts in place. I understand that, I really do.
“At the same time I am on the players' side, so I would always support kind of implications of the rules and regulations that would be in favour, so to say, of players' health most of all.
“Now we have couple of courts with roofs. I'm sure the schedule of the day wouldn't be harmed so much if you start a bit later.”