DAVID GOFFIN

Maxime Cressy had heard people chanting his name in college, when he twice clinched big wins against his rival school.

Novak Djokovic has started his bid to make history at the U.S. Open with a four-set victory over Danish teenager Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune.

Alexander Zverev opened his bid for a second straight U.S. Open final appearance with a win in his opening match.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic serves against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis in the second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – At the mere mention of Novak Djokovic’s name, at the mere thought of sharing a court with a 17-time Grand Slam champion and the French Open’s No. He used these phrases: “really, really excited” and “really, really happy” and “really, really special.”Galan is, after all, ranked 153rd and never had won so much as one main-draw match at any major tournament until this week. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champ, plays 87th-ranked Paula Badosa, who arrived in Paris with a 1-5 Grand Slam record. “Well,” came Galan’s reply, “I was wondering that, to be honest.”And then he launched into a story about how he was “really, really nervous” before playing former top 10-member David Goffin in the Davis Cup Finals last November.

The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that does not use tiebreakers in the final set. 9 seed Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-3 at Court Suzanne Lenglen on Sunday. ___7:30 p.m.Stan Wawrinka made quick work of Andy Murray in their reunion of sorts at the French Open. One of his coaches is Wolfgang Thiem, the father of fellow Austrian Dominic Thiem — the U.S. Open champion, and French Open runner-up the past two years. The 20-year-old Korda beat Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – Prepping in the relative warmth of a gym before heading out with leggings and long sleeves to make her French Open debut against the tournament’s No. I realized it’s just a tennis match. Such a far cry from last year’s French Open: Gauff failed to make it out of qualifying, while Konta was making her way to her third Grand Slam semifinal. She also made it to the fourth round at this year’s Australian Open, beating 2019 champion Naomi Osaka en route. The lack of match play coming in.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus complains about the weather conditions and ask the umpire to suspend the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Montenegro's Danka Kovinic at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – The Latest on the opening day at the French Open:___Postponed and its crowds nearly all driven away, the French Open is finally underway, defying both the coronavirus and autumn rain with play for the first time under the new roof at the revamped Philippe Chatrier showpiece court. A crowd, if it could be called that, of around 150 spectators was on hand to see David Goffin, seeded 11th, and Jannik Sinner from Italy hit the first balls in main draw play Sunday under the Chatrier roof that means the French Open joins the other majors as being able to guarantee play in inclement weather. It will need it: the forecast is grim for the coming days of its covid-enforced autumn slot, pushed back from May and June. ___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and 16-year-old Coco Gauff could face each other at the U.S. Open again after Thursdays, Aug. 27, 2020, draw for the Grand Slam tournament set up a possible third-round rematch. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)American teenager Coco Gauff and two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka could face each other at the U.S. Open again after Thursdays draw for the Grand Slam tournament set up a possible third-round rematch. Osaka, who won the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open, beat Gauff, then just 15, 6-3, 6-0 in the third round at Flushing Meadows a year ago. 1-ranked Ash Barty and 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu. The defending mens champion, Rafael Nadal, and 20-time Grand Slam title winner Roger Federer are also among those absent in New York this year.

But Djokovic is sure to garner more attention now given the way he dismantled David Goffin to close on a second straight Wimbledon title and fifth overall. 1 overturned a first-set deficit, he cruised against Goffin 6-4 6-0 6-2 to reach a ninth semifinal at SW19. That ties the 15-time grand slam champion with his influential former coach Boris Becker. Bautista Agut is 2-0 against the Serbian in 2019 but as the 23rd-ranked Goffin discovered, getting the better of Djokovic at a grand slam is another matter altogether. The big-serving Querrey attempts to oust Nadal at Wimbledon later after defeating Djokovic in 2016 and Murray in 2017.