The Serbian and world number two Novak Djokovic achieved an unprecedented victory in his career, since 2011 when he beat Swiss Roger Federer on Friday against his compatriot Laslo Djere in the third round of the US Open.
Djokovic, for the first time since that semifinal match against Federer, did not come back a match after losing the first two sets at the US Open, which is the last Grand Slam of the year.
Djere forced Djokovic to show off his best punching repertoire and his mental strength after winning the first two sets 6-4 and leaving him on the verge of early elimination in the most important tennis championship of the Americas.
Djokovic managed to recover and, after a break in the third set, made it clear that he was not going to say goodbye to the tournament without a fight.
Djokovic’s battle against the marker and his rival, who gradually lowered the level, ended with a victory in five sets by 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and 6-3 which was reminiscent of the one he achieved against Federer when, in addition to winning after losing the first two sets, he had to raise a couple of points for the match against.
After the triumph, Djokovic celebrated in a special way with a kiss to heaven, pats on the heart and applause from the audience that did not stop cheering him on.
“It’s been one of the toughest games I’ve played here in many years”Djokovic acknowledged.
The Serb also applauded the effort of his compatriot. “Huge credit to Laslo for playing some of the best tennis I’ve ever seen him play,” he said with obvious happiness for making it into the top 16 of the tournament at 36 years of age.
Djokovic, in fact, he has not lost in a third round of the US Open since 2006.
Djokovic’s last elimination before the round of 16 at any Grand Slam tournament, meanwhile, was in the second round of the 2017 Australian Open.
After the epic comeback, Djokovic will play the round of 16 against Croatian Borna Gojo, ATP 105, who has surprised fans by coming from the qualifiers and not having lost a single set in the main draw of the tournament.
2023-09-02 14:37:36
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