Novak Djokovic’s bid to retain the US Open remains on course after his opponent Laslo Djere retired due to injury early in the third set during their second-round match on Arthur Ashe on Wednesday night.
Djokovic led by two sets to love and was up a break in the third set when Djere retired with the score at 6-4. 6-4, 2-0, but that hardly tells the story of what was a grueling battle between the two Serbians.
Djere posed problems for Djokovic throughout, firing 30 winners and 11 aces in a match that lasted two hours and 16 minutes despite ending two games into the third set.
Djokovic, meanwhile, struggled with his serve, landing just 47% of his first serves and facing eight break points throughout Wednesday’s encounter, although he did manage to save seven of them en route to a hard-fought win.
The win secures Djokovic’s place in the third round against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin and marks Djokovic’s 90th-ever win at the US Open, making him the first man to win at least 90 career matches at each of the four Grand Slams.
In what was a brutal physical encounter between the two compatriots, games regularly went to deuce, and rallies frequently became punishing mini-battles as the two Serbs went toe-to-toe from the baseline.
Djokovic pounced at crucial moments in each of the two completed sets before Djere retired with an apparent abdomen injury, bringing up set points on Djere’s serve in each set and making no mistake on either occasion, sealing both sets at the first opportunity.
“It’s not the kind of finish that we players or the crowd want to see,” Djokovic said. “But I think it’s probably due to that physical battle that we had in the opening two sets.”
Both players put immense pressure on their opponent’s serve in the opening set, with Djere saving two break points in his opening service game and Djokovic returning the favor in the very next game.
Djere fired back-to-back break aces to save two more break points later in the set and consistently caused Djokovic problems with a vicious cross-court forehand.
Both players managed to hold serve until the 10th game of the set when Djokovic opened up a 0-40 lead on Djere’s serve to bring up three set points. He only needed one, taking an enthralling opening set in exactly an hour.
The second set picked up right where the first left off, with Djokovic and Djere both fending off break points in their opening service games.
Djere finally got the break his performance deserved when Djokovic fired two forehands long with the score tied at deuce in the third game of the set.
He consolidated the break by holding to 15 and repeated the feat in his next service game to open up a 4-2 lead in the set.
He then had a golden chance to take total control of the set but failed to convert two opportunities for the double-break and, crucially, appeared to suffer an injury while leaning into a backhand on break point.
As so often is the case with Djokovic, the 24-time grand slam champion seized on that moment and turned the set on its head, breaking Djere after a mammoth game that lasted more than seven minutes before comfortably holding serve to lead 5-4.
Djere underwent significant treatment on his abdomen during the changeover and handed Djokovic a set point when he fired a shot into the net at 30-30. Djokovic duly seized the opportunity when Djere fired wide during a lengthy rally.
Djere was clearly struggling when he came out for the third set and failed to win a single point in either of the two opening two games of the third set, handing Djokovic the break with a double fault.
His race clearly run, Djere signaled that he could no longer continue, sealing Djokovic’s place in the third round against Popyrin, who dropped just six games in an emphatic straight sets victory against Pedro Martinez.
The pair have already faced off at two grand slams in 2024, with Djokovic winning in four sets at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Djokovic admitted that he will have to improve when he faces Popyrin on Friday night.
“He’s a really good player and has improved a lot. He’s just won his first master’s in Canada. We always knew he had a big serve and forehand, but I think his backhand and movement have improved a lot.
“He’s going to go for the win, I know that, but I know what to expect as well.”
