The U.S. Open match that Novak Djokovic anticipated would be challenging was becoming increasingly unpredictable as he grappled with his serve.
Missing more than he landed, Djokovic struggled to secure quick points on Wednesday evening. He admitted that he should have lost the second set, and if his opponent hadn’t suffered an injury and been forced to withdraw, he might not have even won that match.
Having secured the victory, the defending champion was solely focused on what lay ahead.
“The matches will only become more difficult from here. I’m aware of that, but I’m alright,” Djokovic stated. “I’ll find my way, as I’ve done numerous times in my career.”
Djokovic advanced to the third round when Laslo Djere had to retire with the No. 2 seed leading his Serbian compatriot 6-4, 6-4, 2-0.
Djere was ahead 4-2 in the second set when he appeared to be troubled by discomfort near his hip and was visited by a trainer later in the set. He completed that set, which lasted 69 minutes after the first one went 60, but didn’t continue much longer.
It was the 90th win at the U.S. Open for Djokovic, making him the first man to reach that total at all four Grand Slams. The 24-time major champion will play No. 28 seed Alexei Popyrin on Friday.
Djere was the only player to win a set against Djokovic at last year’s U.S. Open, grabbing the first two in their third-round encounter before Djokovic rallied.
“So I knew coming into the match that if I don’t serve well, which was the case, I’m going to have to really grind and work for my points a lot,” Djokovic said. “That’s what I guess caused the two sets to be played over two hours.”
Djokovic made only 47% of his first serves and appeared to be struggling physically himself earlier in the match, which was just his second since winning the gold medal in the Olympics.
