NEW YORK—“What’s your name? Who’s your daddy?” the Zombies sang over the loudspeakers as Novak Djokovic and Philipp Kohlschreiber warmed up in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Was this a message to Kohlschreiber? Djokovic has basically owned the German, having won four of their previous five matches. Or was the band's name an ominous reference to what a tennis player could turn into on a painfully humid Labor Day like this one?
It could have been a little bit of both, because Djokovic, despite turning red-faced and at times trudging wearily in the heat, still put the world No. 25 away in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, to pass his first real test of the tournament. The precedents for an upset were in place: Djokovic’s lone loss to Kohlschreiber had come on a day much like this one at Roland Garros in 2009; and the match today was help on the Open’s second show court, the same stadium where Roger Federer was eliminated in this round last year.
Djokovic moved quickly to dispel any signs or thoughts of danger. He came out moving aggressively and looking for forehands, and he broke his opponent in his first service game. Kohlschreiber, by contrast, was in disarray to start. In trying to get on top of rallies, he misfired wildly. As the errors mounted, the German began muttering; the low moment for him came when Djokovic hit two forehand winners and a kick-serve ace to hold for 5-0.
If this match had had a turning point, it would have come in the first game of the second set. Djokovic, still at ease, earned two break points, but squandered them by missing two second-serve service returns. When Kohlschreiber held with a smash, the audience roared. He had finally found his range. The match would be a battle the rest of the way.