Novak Djokovic defeats Marton Fucsovics, enters US Open 2nd round

New York : Sixth seed Novak Djokovic defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the second round of the US Open tennis tournament here.

The Serb, who has won the event twice, needed nearly three hours to dispatch the 27-year-old Hungarian, who is ranked 41st in the world, reports Efe news.

Both men suffered from the soaring temperatures and high humidity here on Tuesday and were glad to take advantage of tournament organisers' decision to allow for a heat break between the third and fourth sets.

"I want to thank the US Open for allowing us to have a 10-minute break after the third set. We both needed it," Djokovic said after the match.

Djokovic, 31, will face US player Tennys Sandgren in the next round.

Sandgren bested Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday.

Djokovic and Sandgren have played each other once before, at the 2018 Wimbledon tournament, where the Serbian great prevailed over the American 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 before going on to win the tournament.