By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday August 24, 2020

Two top seeds. Two very different outcomes. A day of twists and turns yielded a rewarding straight-sets victory for Novak Djokovic and a stinging defeat for Dominic Thiem.



2018 champion and top-seeded Djokovic had his share of difficulties against Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis, but he soldiered past his foe and dealt with pain in his neck, eventually prevailing 7-6(2) 6-4 to stretch his current winning streak to 22 matches on Monday night in New York.

It was a mixed performance for Djokovic. He seemed to feel the weight of the situation, the eerie quiet of the court at the US Open, and the trouble he was getting from a neck that hasn’t stopped bothering him this week. The stiffness forced him to withdraw from doubles a few days ago, and during his victory on Monday he was often seen wincing after points as he desperately tried to loosen up.

“It's getting better,” a hopeful Djokovic said. “It's been now four days, but it has been moving in the right direction. Obviously it's not yet where I would like it to be, but it's heading in that direction. Hopefully it will not react with, I guess, big inflammation after tonight's match. I don't know how it's going to react. Hopefully not that bad. We're going to do everything possible with physiotherapists, and then let's see what tomorrow brings.”

Djokovic will have to get back on court quickly as he’ll face Tennys Sandgren in round of 16 action on Tuesday in New York. If he keeps winning he could play four more matches by Friday, then have to start the US Open Monday – not a particularly easy situation to navigate.

Perhaps Thiem will be thankful that he lost his first match on Monday, but the Austrian didn’t quite see the bright side after he was blasted off the courts by Filip Krajinovic 6-2 6-1.

Thiem, remarkably, won just 2 of 34 return points against the Serb.

“I mean, it was just a horrible game by myself,” Thiem said. “Didn't play well at all. Didn't get any rhythm. I felt like I didn't win any points on his serve. I had really troubles with returning. And, well, it's tough to understand right now, but, well, I will think about it, and hopefully I'll find better answers in the next days.”

If there is a blessing it’s that Thiem can hit the practice courts and try and get used to the fast-paced playing surface at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Most players agree that it is playing much faster than in previous years. Djokovic said it was playing 20 to 30 percent faster in his opinion.

Time will tell how things play out for the men's field at Cincinnati and the US Open. As the two top seeds react to their new surroundings and continue to ramp up their play, there are a lot of uncertainties remaining. For now it’s the practice courts for Thiem, and the training room for Djokovic.

Tomorrow is another day.