After a successful night shift, Novak Djokovic tapped his heart with relief. The top favorite avoided his earliest failure at the US Open since 2006 with a lot of effort and made it into the round of 16 after a show of strength.
The 36-year-old Serb defeated his compatriot Laslo Djere in the night match 4: 6, 4: 6, 6: 1, 6: 1, 6: 3. Djokovic converted his second match point after 3:45 hours at 1:32 a.m.
The three-time US Open winner in New York can thus continue to hope to expand his record in men’s tennis of 23 Grand Slam titles. In the round of the top 16, Djokovic meets the Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo.
That’s what Djokovic said
“I sent a message to the rest of the field: I can still play five sets, deep into the night,” said Djokovic in the catacombs of Arthur Ashe Stadium in front of the dressing room, revealing a recipe for success: “During a break, I have myself missed a little pep talk in the mirror, laughed at myself for being so mad at myself.”
That’s how the match went
Djokovic had problems from the start and immediately gave up his first service game. Djere played well and hardly made any mistakes – but the big favorite didn’t seem up to par. Djokovic kept cooling his arms and neck with an ice pack and massaging his thighs.
When he only managed his second break to make it 2-0 in the third set, the 36-year-old encouraged the audience to cheer with gestures. Djokovic returned better, now Djere was struggling. When Djokovic made the break to make it 2-0 in the decisive set, Djere threw the racket to the ground in frustration. Even after more than three and a half hours, both still showed exciting rallies, in the end Djokovic’s experience decided.
Djokovic as a fighter
In his long career, Djokovic turned a 0-2 set deficit into a win for the eighth time in a Grand Slam tournament. He last managed to do this at the US Open in 2011 against Swiss Roger Federer in the semifinals.
The opponent
The two compatriots have known each other for a long time. Djokovic invited Djere to a doubles match in Dubai eight years ago, when he wasn’t even among the top 250 in the world. Since then, the two have trained together more often and played together in the Davis Cup.
This is how Djokovic continues
The world number 105. Gojo is surprisingly in the round of 16 in his first US Open participation. The 25-year-old has not yet lost a set in his three wins, but has not yet met any top professionals. Several highly rated possible opponents have already failed on the desired path to the final. Led by world number ninth Taylor Fritz, a possible quarter-final opponent, a total of four Americans are still represented in half of Djokovic’s draw.
