Novak Djokovic kicked off at this time’s matches on the primary courtroom on the US Open, on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with a hard-fought win.
The Serbian star defeated American qualifier Zachary Svajda in 4 units, after two hours and 31 minutes of play: 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, and secured his spot within the third spherical of the Grand Slam in New York.
With this win, Novak set a brand new document – he’s now reached the third spherical of a Grand Slam match 75 occasions, greater than every other participant in historical past.
Djokovic was removed from his greatest at the start of the match. He appeared drained, made extra errors than typical, and couldn’t take management early on. He missed two break level probabilities within the opening recreation and needed to save two break factors on his personal serve later. The primary set was determined in a tie-break, the place Novak struggled, and Svajda took the lead 7-6 (7-5) after 62 minutes.
Within the second set, the seventh seed began enjoying a lot better, taking management of the match. He broke Svajda’s serve within the sixth recreation and took the set 6-3, tying the match at 1-1. He had two set factors for 6-2 earlier, however wanted yet one more recreation to complete it.
The third set began with a shock – Svajda broke Novak’s serve and led 3-1. However that didn’t final lengthy. Djokovic turned it round, gained 5 video games in a row, and grabbed the set 6-3, going up 2–1 in units.
The fourth set was all Novak. He dominated from the beginning, managed the rhythm, and didn’t give his rival any likelihood to return again. With a clean and assured efficiency, he closed the match 6-1 and moved on to the following spherical.
“Not that nice to be sincere,” Djokovic mentioned when requested about his tennis. “I used to be probably not pleased with my tennis within the first a part of the match but additionally credit score to Zach for enjoying some actually high-quality tennis. It was unlucky that he struggled with damage in direction of the top of the second, however kudos to him for staying on the courtroom. He clearly couldn’t serve in addition to he did for the primary set and a half however I want him all the perfect.”
Match statistics: aces (10-8), double faults (4-3), winners (48-39), unforced errors (25-30), complete factors gained (125-94).
For a spot within the final 16, Novak will face the winner of the match between Cameron Norrie (GBR) and Francisco Comesaña (ARG) on Friday.
Picture: Profimedia
