US Open: Djokovic dances his way into third round

The Serb goes on to face Italian veteran Andreas Seppi for a place in the last-16


Afp September 03, 2015
Novak Djokovic of Serbia (R) dances on the court with a fan after defeating Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria during their US Open 2015 second round men's singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Center September 2, 2015 in New York. PHOTO: AFP

NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic strolled into the US Open third round Wednesday with a 90-minute demolition of Andreas Haider-Maurer that even had Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx on his feet.

One Direction's Niall Horan (left centre) and Hollywood star Jamie Foxx (right centre) watched the match. PHOTO COURTESY: SPLASH NEWS

The world number one and 2011 champion, who is bidding to reach the final for the sixth time, eased to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over the 52nd-ranked Austrian.

It was the second match in succession that Djokovic had not faced a break point.

Serb top seed Djokovic, already with the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles under his belt this year, goes on to face Italian veteran Andreas Seppi for a place in the last-16.

Djokovic holds a 10-0 career lead over Seppi, the 25th seed.

His performance brought enthusiastic applause from Hollywood A-lister Foxx, the star of "Ray" and "Django Unchained," who was sitting just behind Djokovic's coach Boris Becker in the players box on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Foxx smiled for a selfie with Djokovic's coach and former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker (right). PHOTO COURTESY: SPLASH NEWS

Such was the ease of his night's work that Djokovic marked his victory by dancing on court with a burly fan.



The spectator presented Djokovic the player with a matching 'I Love NY' T-shirt and also put it on him.



"It took a while to get on court. It's not easy to start a match at 10pm," said Djokovic.

"I have never played Andreas on a hard court before so it took a while to get used to his positioning.

"He has a big serve and it was tough at the start to get into the rallies."

The humid conditions persuaded Djokovic to bring a box of sawdust onto court to dry his hands at changeovers.

"You need to be prepared," he said. "Also, luckily, I have enough shirts."

Haider-Maurer, meanwhile, walked away with almost $70,000 in prize money which will go a long way to footing the bill for his wedding, scheduled for September 12.

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