Novak Djokovic rallied from a set all the way down to beat compatriot Laslo Djere in three units
Novak Djokovic rallied from a set all the way down to beat compatriot Laslo Djere in three units
Novak Djokovic rallied from a set all the way down to beat compatriot Laslo Djere 2-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) within the second spherical of the Serbia Open on Wednesday in a match that lasted virtually 3 1/2 hours.
The highest-ranked Serb struggled to search out his rhythm in what was simply his fifth match of the 12 months and the Fiftieth-ranked Djere created break-point alternatives in all 4 of Djokovic’s service video games within the opening set.
Djokovic improved within the second and recovered from lacking three set factors within the twelfth recreation to win the tiebreaker. Djere had an opportunity to go 5-3 up within the third set earlier than Djokovic broke again for 4-4, and the 20-time Grand Slam champion then received the final 4 factors of the decisive tiebreaker.
Djokovic was coming off uncommon back-to-back defeats after opening his clay-court season with a shocking loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on the Monte Carlo Masters final week, his first match since being eradicated within the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February. Dubai was his first event of the 12 months after he was barred from taking part in on the Australian Open due to his unvaccinated standing, which additionally prevented him from taking part in tournaments in the US final month.
Djokovic subsequent faces one other Serb, Miomir Kecmanovic, who defeated John Millman 6-4, 7-6 (5) to achieve the quarterfinals for the second 12 months in a row. The Australian had defeated Dominic Thiem on Tuesday.
Djokovic, who’s on the lookout for his first title of the 12 months, has not misplaced to a compatriot since a defeat to Janko Tipsarevic in Madrid in 2012.
Third-seeded Karen Khachanov was handed a walkover win over Roman Safiullin earlier.
