Niland thrilled to get shot at Djokovic
Facing up to the world number one and current holder of the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles obviously severely minimises Niland’s prospects of advancing to the last 64 of the final Grand Slam of the year.
And his Davis Cup team-mate Louk Sorensen faces only a marginally less difficult task, being pitted against number six seed, Sweden’s Robin Soderling.
But Niland is not fazed by the thought of having to square up to an opponent who has won 57 of his 59 matches this year, and who has collected more than $8 million in prize this year.
“I suppose that some people might think it’s the worst draw I could have got, but that’s not the way I would look at it,” said Niland, who won three matches in the qualifying round to secure his place in the last 128 of the Flushing Meadows event.
“I feel that it’s a tremendous privilege and opportunity for me to be playing the top player in the world at the moment. Obviously, it’s going to be a very difficult match for me, but it should be a great experience for me, and it’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
Once he had booked his place in the main draw, by scoring a 2-6 6-1 6-4 win over the Netherlands’ Mattwe Middelkoop in the final round of qualifying, the Limerick native knew there was a possibility he could be paired against the stunning Serb.
“Including myself, there were 16 players coming through from the qualifying to the main draw,” explained Niland, who had never progressed past the second round of qualifying in his two previous sorties into the New York tournament.
“Djokovic was down to play a qualifier, so I was aware that I could be drawn against him. And, of course, then on Saturday I found out that I was going to play him in the first round.”
Incidentally, it is a case of third time lucky for Niland, who has previously just missed out on meeting Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer earlier this year. A final round qualifying loss to Australia’s Matthew Ebden deprived Niland of a clash with Nadal in the first round of the top-tier Queen’s tournament in London in early June.
And then, just two weeks later, his heart-breaking defeat by France’s Adrian Mannarino in the first round at Wimbledon, after leading 4-1 in the fifth set with his own serve to come, ruled out a second round showdown with Federer.
Niland reflected: “It was a pity to miss out on the matches against Nadal and Federer, but it’s fantastic to have the match against Djokovic to look forward to.”
Both Niland and Sorensen were due to play their opening round matches today but Djokovic, who was forced to retire with a right shoulder injury in the final of the Cincinnatti Masters eight days ago, has requested that his clash with Niland be deferred by 24 hours.
Sorensen’s march to the main draw is one of fairytale proportions as he decided to retire from pro tennis last May because of long-term injuries.
However, he recently opted to make a comeback and his progress to the last 128 of a Grand Slam for the second time — he became the first Irishman in the modern era to win a match in the main draw of the Slams at the 2010 Australian Open — has exceeded his most optimistic expectations.
And if the Stuttgart-based right-hander replicates the quality and guile of his performance in his 7-6 (7/2) 6-1 final round win over Austria’s Martin Fischer, he should give a decent account of himself against the big-serving Soderling.
