Novak Djokovic of Serbia waves as he walks onto the course to face Laslo Djere of Serbia during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic was already expecting a tough match, but he struggled with his serve and it looked like it might be even.
Djokovic made more mistakes than he won and struggled to score points quickly Wednesday night. He acknowledged he should have lost the second set and said he probably wouldn’t have won the match if his opponent had to be stopped by injury.
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Once that happened, the defending champions had their eyes only on the future.
Read: Novak Djokovic ‘feels motivated’ to defend US Open title
“The match is only going to get tougher, I know that, but I’m OK,” Djokovic said. “I’m going to find my way, like I’ve done so many times in my career.”
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Djokovic led his Serbian compatriot 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 to reach the third round after second-seeded Laslo Djere withdrew.
Jere was leading 4-2 in the second set but was seen by a trainer late in the set after appearing to be bothered by pain in his lower back area. After a 60-minute first set, Jere finished the second set in 69 minutes, but he didn’t last long after that.
Laslo Djere of Serbia is tested during a match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
“In the end it wasn’t the outcome we players and the spectators wanted to see, but I think that’s probably because of the physical battle in the first two sets,” Djokovic said.
It was Djokovic’s 90th U.S. Open victory, making him the first player to achieve that feat in all four Grand Slam tournaments. The 24-time major champion will face 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin on Friday.
Read: Novak Djokovic aims for 25th Grand Slam title after winning Olympic gold
Jere was the only player to take a set from Djokovic at last year’s U.S. Open, taking the first two sets in their third-round match before Djokovic fought back.
“So I knew going into the match that if my serve wasn’t going well, which it was, I was going to have to really work to win the point,” Djokovic said. “I think that’s why the two sets were played over two hours.”
Djokovic was successful on just 47 percent of his first serves and appeared to be struggling physically early in the match, playing just his second match since winning Olympic gold.
Jere had two chances to break Djokovic’s serve and should have led 5-2 in the second set, but he couldn’t win another game and Djokovic broke after pulling a forehand out of bounds to win the set.
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“Obviously, I’m happy overall with the win,” Djokovic said, “and happy that I was able to hit one more ball over the net than him in the key moments. I think I was able to find the right shots or anticipate them well, like I did on set point in the second set.”
