Djokovic and Serena Both Victorious Under the Lights
Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the defending men’s singles U.S. Open champ, defeated Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi, 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium to cap off Day Two action at the 2012 U.S. Open. It took Djokovic just over an hour to defeat Lorenzi, as the defending champ now moves on to round two where he will face Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 winner over Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili.
"I tried to analyze my game, and my game was great from the start to the end," said Djokovic. "You know, it’s also important for me to try to be as economical with the time I spend on the court as possible, but obviously not underestimating any opponent. I played really focused, tried to get to the net also."
Serena Williams followed Djokovic’s dominant performance with an equally one-sided affair of her own, a 6-1, 6-1 win over fellow American Coco Vandeweghe. Serena’s second round opponent will be Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, a 6-3, 5-7 winner over Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic.
"I think my mental game has been my strongest game," said Serena. "I’ve won so many Grand Slams off of it, so many matches because of what I have upstairs. Sometimes what I don’t have. I think for the most part my dad always said tennis was mental."
