Mardy Fish has revealed that he enjoys the pressure of being the top American seed at the US Open.
The 29-year-old opened up his campaign at Flushing Meadows with a 6-2 6-2 6-1 victory over Tobias Kamke to advance to the second round and admitted after the match that he was aware of the weight of expectation on him in front of a home crowd.
"It was certainly different pressure than I’ve ever felt. But it’s a great feeling," Fish told a press conference.
Fish has never advanced past the quarter-final stage of Grand Slam but believes that this tournament could see him buck that trend.
"It’s hard to say I expect to see myself in the second Saturday of the US Open because I’ve never done that before," he added.
"I’ve been close once, but I’d like to get there now. I really feel like I belong there. I can get there."
Fish will face either Malek Jaziri or Thiemo de Bakker in round two.
Liam Apicella
