Novak Djokovic said he missed playing in the biggest tournaments in the United States and was thrilled to be back after winning his first singles match there in two years at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has not been allowed to compete in the US over his refusal to take a Covid-19 vaccine, but returned after the government relaxed its rules for unvaccinated foreign travellers in May.
Playing singles in Cincinnati for the first time since 2019, Djokovic won the first set 6-4 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who later retired with a back issue.
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"Time flies. Four years seems like it was yesterday. So it's definitely nice to be back," he told reporters. "I've had some really nice memories from this tournament.
"Winning it in 2018 obviously is a highlight for me, because it was the only Masters I hadn't won for years. I think I lost four or five finals mostly to Roger [Federer].
"But I played well in the past and was really glad to have a chance to come back to the States. It's been two years. I missed it.
"Some of the biggest tournaments in our sport are played on American soil. I'm just excited to play some tennis."
World number two Djokovic, who lost the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz last month, is looking to capture his third Grand Slam title of the season at the US Open, which gets under way on August 28 - live on Sky Sports.
Djokovic was far from his best in his 46 minutes of action against Davidovich Fokina, facing break points at 1-1 before serving his way out of trouble.
His opponent took a medical timeout away from the court to tend to a lower back issue while trailing 3-4 and when he returned his movement was limited and he was broken to love.
Handed the opportunity to serve out the set against the ailing Spaniard, Djokovic played an uncharacteristically sloppy game, dumping a forehand into the net to hand the break back.
He swiftly recovered in the next game, flicking a forehand crosscourt passing shot in the next game to capture the opener, before in the first game of the second set, Davidovich Fokina took a step that further aggravated his back injury and soon after walked to the net to shake hands with Djokovic.
"Some positives, some negatives. But at the end of the day, it's expected. First match coming back," said Djokovic, who will meet fellow veteran Gael Monfils in the next round in Cincinnati.
"It's great for me to be able to come back to the court and to win a match but obviously mixed emotions with the way it finished.
"Nevertheless I'm hoping I can build my form day to day and progress through the tournament raising my level.
"It'll probably take a few sets for me to really get things going in a right way."
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