Novak Djokovic: World No. 1 Will Flatten Carlos Berlocq in Second Round

When Novak Djokovic hurt his shoulder, there was concern that he would eventually have to withdraw from the US Open.

Well, Djokovic's first-round match did produce a retirement, but it was his opponent, Conor Niland, who did the retiring.

Djokovic looked incredibly dominant while he was on the court. He won the first set 6-0 and was up 5-1 in the second before Niland withdrew.

Carlos Berlocq was impressive in his first match, beating Pere Riba 7-5, 6-0, and 6-1 in a dominant performance.

Djokovic's shoulder doesn't appear to be a serious problem. No, Niland's not exactly a top-flight opponent, but Djokovic wouldn't be that dominant against anyone if his shoulder was causing significant trouble.

Berlocq, who is 28 years old, is already having his best-career US Open, having been eliminated in the first round in 2007 and 2010.

As a matter of fact, he's already tied for his best Grand Slam finish. Despite the impressive first round, he will not better that output at this US Open.

Djokovic is just too good.

I had previously said that Rafael Nadal would win this US Open. I am still not convinced that he won't make a good run, but Nadal is not playing with a lot of confidence right now.

Djokovic is loaded with confidence.

Niland actually did Djokovic a nice favor in retiring before the third set. Now, whatever shoulder injuries Djokovic has have been given even more healing time than before.

Even if Djokovic won the third set 6-0, he would have had to put his shoulder through six more games. Who knows what kind of stress that could have added?

The shoulder injury may not be gone, but it's clearly not hurting him in a significant way. Berlocq's only chance was that Djokovic would not be able to play at top form.

That's no longer a worry.

If Djokovic doesn't at least reach the semifinals, it will be a real surprise, injury and all.