Novak Djokovic survives ‘one of the toughest’ US Open matches
Novak Djokovic has progressed to the fourth round of the US Open for the 15th time in his career, however he had to do it the hard way against Serbian compatriot Laslo Djere.
Djokovic trailed by two-sets-to-love before fighting back to beat the world No.38, 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3, in the early hours of Saturday morning in New York.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion reflected on his third round battle, “Unbelievable. It’s almost 2am, a large number of people stayed. I hope [the fans] enjoyed the show, it was definitely not so enjoyable for me, especially in the first two sets.”
He continued, “It was one of the toughest matches I’ve played here in many years. Huge, huge credit to Laslo for playing some of the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play.”
Upon going two sets down, Djokovic elected to take a bathroom break and he revealed what he told himself after the match, “I did a little pep talk in the mirror.
“I kind of laughed at myself because I was so p****d off and agitated. I had to kind of force myself to lift myself up. I’ve done it a few times before in my career and it worked. A few times it didn’t work. Tonight it did.”
Novak Djokovic has now won 9 of his last 10 5-set matches 😤#USOpen pic.twitter.com/aB1YW6Y8oe
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) September 2, 2023
Djokovic’s historic bid for a record 24th Grand Slam singles title will continue on Sunday, as he looks ahead to his fourth round US Open match against qualifier Borna Gojo.
Novak Djokovic winning five set matches from two sets down
With his latest comeback victory, Djokovic has now achieved eight wins at major tournaments from two sets down and we, at Tennishead, have provided them for you:
- 2005 – Djokovic beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 3-6 3-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) 6-4 (Wimbledon Second Round)
- 2011 – Djokovic beat Roger Federer (3), 6(7)-7 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5 (US Open Semi-final)
- 2012 – Djokovic beat Andreas Seppi (22), 4-6 6(5)-7 6-3 7-5 6-3 (Roland Garros Fourth Round)
- 2015 – Djokovic beat Kevin Anderson (14), 6(6)-7 6(6)-7 6-1 6-4 7-5 (Wimbledon Fourth Round)
- 2021 – Djokovic beat Lorenzo Musetti, 6(7)-7 6(2)-7 6-1 6-0 4-0 (retired) (Roland Garros Fourth Round)
- 2021 – Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (5), 6(6)-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 (Roland Garros Final)
- 2022 – Djokovic beat Jannik Sinner (10), 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 (Wimbledon Quarter-final)
- 2023 – Djokovic beat Laslo Djere (32), 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 (US Open Third Round)
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