Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are missing old sparring partner Roger Federer, who was forced to skip the US Open for the first time since 1999. Federer, the winner of a record 17 majors and a five-time champion in New York, shut down his season to rest a knee injury which was aggravated in a semi-final loss at Wimbledon.
 “Roger today is having the same injury issues, so I wish him a fast recovery,” Nadal said after beating Denis Istomin to make the second round. Nadal had come into the tournament under an injury cloud after a serious wrist problem had forced an early withdrawal from the French Open as well as an absence from the Wimbledon.
 “It is very tough to see the players outside of the tour. The fans miss the players, the tour needs the players,” added the Spaniard.
 World number one Djokovic, who beat Federer to win a second US Open last year, also felt sympathy for the 35-year-old Swiss. “It’s not the same when you don’t have Roger for the tournament, for the fans. He’s been one of the most popular players of all time, one of the most successful players of all time,” said the Serb, a first-round winner over Jerzy Janowicz.
 “There is no doubt that every tournament is missing him. But on the other hand, we have got to focus on the players that we have at the moment. So I think even without him, it’s a very strong field. I’m sure it’s going to be a good tournament.”

Niculescu all praise for Sania
Romania’s Monica Niculescu dumped Czech 18th seed Barbora Strycova out of the US Open and credited Indian doubles star Sania Mirza with the victory. Niculescu won 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-1 in her opener and paid tribute to Mirza with whom she teamed last weekend to win the doubles title at New Haven. “I learned so much from that week, and she gave me so many tips on how to play certain girls and how to see the game,” the 28-year-old world number 35 said. “She has so much power and it was so nice to play with her... she was hitting so big and I just had to go to the net and do my stuff. I learned so many things. I want to thank her for playing with me, and I felt fantastic. I’m hoping to play again, when I can with her, because it was great.”

Bright start for wild card Day
Kayla Day, a 16-year-old wild card ranked 374th in the world, reached the second round of the US Open with a victory over Madison Brengle. Day was leading 6-2, 4-2 when Brengle, ranked 50th in the world, retired from their first-round match with a right forearm injury. Day, of Santa Barbara, California, received her wild card invitation thanks to her triumph in the US Tennis Association’s Girls’ 18s National Championship earlier this month. The USTA Girls’ 18s national champion has now won her first round match at the US Open three out of the last four years. CiCi Bellis beat Dominika Cibulkova in 2014 and Sachia Vickery beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in 2013.

Isner blasts Kaepernick anthem protest as ‘pathetic’
US tennis player John Isner weighed in on Colin Kaepernick’s controversial US national anthem boycott on Monday, calling the San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s action “pathetic”. Isner said he respected Kaepernick’s aim of drawing attention to racial inequality in America, but thought the NFL player’s refusal to stand for the Star Spangled Banner prior to a pre-season game was a poor means of protest. “I thought that was pathetic from him,” Isner said after a five-set victory over young compatriot Frances Tiafoe in the first round.
 “The cause he was going for, fine by me, but don’t do it in that fashion. He could have found some other ways to present his voice there. A lot of NBA players have done it, and good on ‘em. For him doing it in that way really irked me,” added Isner, who’s now pulling for Kaepernick’s back-up in San Francisco. “I’m a big Blaine Gabbert fan now.” Kaepernick has stoked anger with his protest, which he says he plans to continue, with critics calling it disrespectful.

I have a lot to learn, says beaten Oly champion Puig
Monica Puig, whose Olympic tennis triumph in Rio de Janeiro gave Puerto Rico their first ever Games gold, was unceremoniously bundled out of the US Open on Monday by China’s Zheng Saisai. Zheng beat the 32nd-seeded Puerto Rican 6-4, 6-2 to book a second-round date with Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine.
Puig, 22, admitted she had a lot to learn about coping with success and with her sharp rise up the rankings this year which saw her seeded for the first time at a Slam at number 32.
 “It’s always a little bit tough, especially coming off winning the Olympic gold medal. A lot of pressure, a lot of expectation, but I can always continue to learn,” said Puig. “That’s what I’m going to try and do. All credit to her, though. She played well. But I’m still learning. I’m still growing. Trying to find the positives out of everything.”