CNN
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Novak Djokovic had a close call in the third round of the US Open, but he fought back and won in a five-set match against fellow Serb Laslo Djere, with a score of 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3.
The match ended close to 2am, and despite the late hour, the crowd stayed to witness Djokovic’s eighth comeback from being two sets down in a grand slam, according to the ATP Tour.
Djokovic’s victory keeps his hopes alive for winning his 24th grand slam title, as he aims to match Margaret Court’s record and extend his own record for the most men’s grand slam titles.
According to the ATP Tour, Djokovic addressed the crowd after the match, saying, “I hope you enjoyed the show, it was not so enjoyable for me especially in the first two sets. It was one of the toughest matches I have played here in many years. Huge, huge credit to Laslo for playing some of the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play.”
Despite Djokovic’s reputation as one of the best returners in the game, Djere’s serve in the first two sets was impenetrable. The No.32 seed held every service game and had an impressive performance, winning 18 of his 20 first serve points in the second set, according to the US Open.
However, Djokovic showed his tenacity and skills, which have earned him 23 grand slam titles, and turned the match around.
Trailing by two sets, Djokovic made a remarkable comeback by breaking Djere’s serve in the third set during a 26-shot rally.
After the first two sets, Djokovic revealed that he gave himself a “little pep talk in the mirror” during the break, as reported by Reuters.
Reflecting on his comeback, Djokovic said, “I had to force myself to lift myself up, lift the spirits up a little bit. I’ve done it a few times before in my career, it worked. A few times it didn’t work, but tonight it did and I’m grateful.”
From that moment, Djokovic seemed to have control over the match, even when Djere almost broke his serve in the third game of the fourth set.
In the next round, Djokovic will face Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo.
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