Novak shows no mercy

Ryan Harrison had the support of the crowd tonight - more correctly he became the recipient of pity for a competitor having an off night dealt the unplayable hand of mixing it with the world's best playing close to his best.

The young American has shown his true abilities here as recently as last year when as a teenager he took the first set off Andy Murray in the first round.  However, on the big stage tonight Novak Djokovic was out to show why he is favourite to win for the third year running.  Apart from the excellent winner to take the first point of the night, Ryan never looked likely in the opening set.

Novak was supreme, his returning of the big Harrison serve ever reliable and often stunning, the ground strokes accurate as if programmed by a computer (which is how his mind works), and the serve deceivingly quick and never under threat.  One hand more than enough to count the points lost on the Serb serve.

The only shot employed in the set, in fact throughout the match, that may need some fine tuning is the drop shot which Novak telegraphed rather amateurishishly on occasion and received just punishment.  A very minor blip indeed in the overall story.

Twenty minutes of Novak's time was invested in winning the first set 6-1, during which he converted 2 break points.  How much of the momentum would carry into the second set?

The answer came rather fast.  Ryan served first with 15-40 on our doorstep before we blinked.  He battled through that but the Djokovic roll was irresistable and the break occurred as it seemingly must.  Set 2 was as clinical as the opener but in addition Novak opened his box of magic to introduce more flair to the show.  The winners were sublime and Harrison, like the crowd, was witness to a magnificent display, even cracking it for a smile at one stage - he knew that tonight was not his and that the differerence between the two players was being exaggerated.  Another time and place perhaps for a real contest.

The set lasted slightly longer and Ryan grabbed an extra game off Novak before the deal was sealed 6-2, and the world's best led two sets to none in 50 minutes.

The final set produced the best tennis as a whole with Ryan Harrison joining in to hit some slashing winners off the ground.  His serve proved far more reliable, albeit Djokovic still managing to win many points off it, and the seventh game was a thriller.  That game alone seemed to last as long as the entire first set with Harrison being taken to deuce several times and saving a break point before winning to trail 3-4.

Djokovic would always come up trumps in the set - his standard of play never dipped.  However it did please everyone to see some good tennis from both of them at the conclusion of a what really was a Novak clinic.  6-1 6-2 6-3

Stepanek had better be prepared with everything he has.