Defending U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic stayed on the right track for a document twenty fifth Grand Slam title Wednesday when fellow Serb Laslo Djere retired injured whereas trailing 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 of their second-round conflict.
A yr in the past, Djokovic required 5 units to beat Djere within the third spherical, and it appeared Arthur Ashe Stadium may witness one other dramatic encounter when Djere took a break lead within the second set.
However, Djere appeared to undergo an damage halfway by the set, permitting Djokovic to safe his ninetieth U.S. Open victory. This milestone makes Djokovic the primary man to attain 90 wins at every of the 4 Grand Slams.
“It’s not what we want. It’s not what the crowd wants, to see a walkover,” Djokovic stated. “But he obviously had an injury that took him out of the Tour for some time, and he is struggling to come back physically to this level. He’s such a good player, especially in these conditions. It should’ve been his second set, honestly.”
Four-time champion Djokovic, who had regarded rusty in his opening-round match, appeared to wrestle within the sweltering situations that examined rivals all day at Flushing Meadows, wrapping himself in ice towels throughout changeovers.
Djokovic broke Djere to like within the tenth sport of a tightly fought first set, benefiting from a collection of unforced errors by his opponent.
The second seed needed to work more durable to carry serve within the opening sport of the subsequent set, heading off two break factors after which shouted in frustration as he let a break level alternative slip by his fingers within the subsequent sport.
Djere regarded to have the momentum as he broke his opponent within the third sport of the second set and held serve within the subsequent with a mighty ace.
But the night fell aside for Djere when he winced after a serve within the eighth sport and Djokovic transformed a breakpoint.
Djere, who missed a part of the season after present process elbow surgical procedure in April, appeared to wrestle along with his mobility from there and took a medical timeout after the ninth sport, mendacity on the courtroom as a physio massaged his stomach and decrease again.
Djokovic broke once more within the tenth sport, and Djere tried to struggle on earlier than retiring seven minutes into the third set.
Up subsequent for Djokovic is Australian Alexei Popyrin, who took a set off him of their earlier Grand Slam clashes at Wimbledon and the Australian Open this yr.
“I’m happy to win four sets another time. Don’t get me wrong. But he keeps on getting closer and closer, knocking on that door,” Djokovic stated. “He’s been playing some great tennis, so there’s no reason for him not to believe that he can put up a great performance, and he’s going to go for the win. I know that. But I know what to expect as well… I’m going to do my homework and see what needs to be done.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com