Novak Djokovic kicked off today’s matches on the main court at the US Open, on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with a hard-fought win.
The Serbian star defeated American qualifier Zachary Svajda in four sets, after two hours and 31 minutes of play: 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, and secured his spot in the third round of the Grand Slam in New York.
With this win, Novak set a new record – he’s now reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament 75 times, more than any other player in history.
Djokovic was far from his best at the beginning of the match. He looked tired, made more mistakes than usual, and couldn’t take control early on. He missed two break point chances in the opening game and had to save two break points on his own serve later. The first set was decided in a tie-break, where Novak struggled, and Svajda took the lead 7-6 (7-5) after 62 minutes.
In the second set, the 7th seed started playing much better, taking control of the match. He broke Svajda’s serve in the sixth game and took the set 6-3, tying the match at 1-1. He had two set points for 6-2 earlier, but needed one more game to finish it.
The third set started with a surprise – Svajda broke Novak’s serve and led 3-1. But that didn’t last long. Djokovic turned it around, won five games in a row, and grabbed the set 6-3, going up 2–1 in sets.
The fourth set was all Novak. He dominated from the start, controlled the rhythm, and didn’t give his rival any chance to come back. With a smooth and confident performance, he closed the match 6-1 and moved on to the next round.
“Not that great to be honest,” Djokovic said when asked about his tennis. “I was not really happy with my tennis in the first part of the match but also credit to Zach for playing some really high-quality tennis. It was unfortunate that he struggled with injury towards the end of the second, but kudos to him for staying on the court. He obviously could not serve as well as he did for the first set and a half but I wish him all the best.”
Match statistics: aces (10-8), double faults (4-3), winners (48-39), unforced errors (25-30), total points won (125-94).
For a place in the last 16, Novak will face Cameron Norrie (GBR) on Friday.
Photo: Profimedia
