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NEW YORK -- It was a victory by the book for Novak Djokovic
on Tuesday: the rulebook, that is. Djokovic acknowledged that several breaks helped him overcome
the oppressive heat and humidity and outlast Frenchman Gael Monfils
7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 0-6, 7-5 in a four-hour, first-round match in
the U.S. Open. "The timeouts helped me a lot," the right-hander from
Serbia-Montenegro said. "He was physically better prepared than
me." Monfils, who turns 19 on Thursday and was the world's top-ranked
junior last year after he won three of the four Grand Slam junior
titles, appealed to the umpire about the number of timeouts his
opponent was given, but refused after the match to be drawn into
the controversy. "I just don't know if he was faking it or it was for real,"
Monfils said. Djokovic, also 18, has a history of breathing problems. But the
rulebook stipulates that a player cannot take a medical break for
"pre-existing conditions not aggravated during play" or "general
player fatigue." So when Djokovic complained about his breathing in the second
set, Dr. Brian Hainline, the tournament physician, said he couldn't
take a timeout. By then, the players had had a break of at least
three minutes. "At 4-0 [Monfils] in the fourth set, my shoulder really hurt, I
didn't have energy," Djokovic said. This time, trainer Edward Modica came onto the court and worked
on Djokovics shoulder. Two games later, Monfils completed a 6-0 set
and leveled the match at two sets apiece. With Djokovic serving at 3-4, Monfils won a long point to pull
to deuce. Looking exhausted, Djokovic collapsed on the court. "After a long point I couldn't breathe," he said. "I fell
down and felt two cramps in both of my calves." While Modica worked on Djokovics left leg, massaging his calf,
Monfils sat on his courtside chair. "We made a long point, it was 40-all," Monfils said,
remembering the moment. "You get only 25 seconds to play again." Instead, it was 12 minutes from the time the point was over
until play resumed. "I got cold a little bit," said the Frenchman, explaining that
the chill came from the fact his shirt was drenched in sweat. Djokovic also left the court twice for bathroom breaks, after
the first and third sets, all within the rules. "I asked to go to the toilet and they said, `No, you can't, not
until the end of the set,"' Monfils said. During one of Djokovics
medical timeouts, Monfils went to the dressing room and came back
wearing a dry shirt. When they got around to playing, the two engaged in a
long-range, hard-hitting slugfest, Monfils running down everything
but staying at least 6 feet back of the baseline. Djokovic may not have covered as much court, but he had more
variety in his game, putting a drop shot to good use throughout the
match to bring his French opponent to the net, where Monfils felt
out of place. At least twice, Monfils slammed easy putaways into
the bottom of the net. The match officially was timed in 4 hours, 2 minutes. "I didn't expect to win," Djokovic said. "I have problems
with my shoulder. I have problems breathing. But every timeout I
had a reason. Cramps in my back, cramps in my leg, my shoulder. "The weather was so bad, it was so humid. I felt like giving up
in the fourth set. In the fifth set, I just tried to save my energy
to hold serve or until I had a chance to break him." Djokovic did just that, returning to the court after the
fifth-set medical timeout to hold serve and pull even at 4-4. He
broke Monfils at 30 in the 11th game after Monfils double-faulted
to break point, then held at 30 to advance to the second round in
the year's final Grand Slam tournament. Monfils finished with 22 aces and 175 points -- 24 points more
than the winner. "I'm really sorry because Gael is a real good friend of mine,"
Djokovic said of his timeouts. "But I had to do it." The win is now in the record book.
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