Djokovic Back From The Brink In Belgrade

Novak Djokovic demonstrated all of his battling qualities to overcome a slow start against fellow Serb Laslo Djere and complete a dramatic second-round comeback at the Serbia Open in Belgrade on Wednesday.

The World No. 1 struggled to find his best level for much of his maiden tour-level meeting with Djere, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion dug deep to clinch a 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) win and keep his hopes of a third title at the ATP 250 event alive at the Novak Tennis Center.

“I liked the way I managed to physically hold on and push through and survive a thriller of almost three-and-a-half hours,” Djokovic said post-match. “That’s the positive difference compared to Monte Carlo, where I just wasn’t able to physically sustain the third set. Today, that was different. If there are positives, I think that’s the one.”

“Playing an official match in front of your crowd… you feel the great support, which I had, and I’m very grateful for that. But at the same time, it’s not simple. Even after so many years of experience and playing many times in front of the home crowd, you still feel nervous.”

Just like in his loss in Monaco against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Djokovic was slow out the blocks, but this time he found his range in time to stay with his opponent and eventually overhauled Djere in a three-hour, 22-minute marathon.

Djokovic could not match a strong start from the World No. 50 as Djere carved out break point opportunities in all four of the top seed’s service games in the opening set. Converting two of them was enough for Djere to take the set, as he struck the ball powerfully against an opponent struggling to settle in just his fifth match of 2022.

“I think Djere, for most of the match, was the better player,” Djokovic said. “He was the one controlling the game. He was the one attacking. I didn’t feel great again in terms of my game. I had a very bad match with my serve, kind of ups and downs really.”

Djokovic upped his level in the second set and let out a roar after reclaiming a break to level at 4-4 as the crowd began to anticipate a trademark comeback from the legendary 34-year-old. He missed three set points in the 12th game but recovered from that disappointment to clinch the tie-break to force a decider.

Djokovic was never at his imperious best but stayed solid off both wings and took a nervy final set in a tie-break despite stubborn resistance from a tiring Djere, who produced a high-class performance as he came close to the biggest win of his career. The World No. 50 will nonetheless rue a couple of costly misses at crucial moments. He netted a short forehand into an open court when serving at 4-3, 40/15 to let Djokovic back into the second set, and then missed a similar forehand when 4/3 ahead in the third-set tie-break.

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With the win, Djokovic improved his record against Serbian opponents to 26-4. He has not lost to a countryman since defeat to Janko Tipsarevic in Madrid in 2012.

“It was a little bit [of a] strange feeling playing against another Serbian player, which will be the case again tomorrow,” he said. “But I must say the crowd was outstanding.”

Djokovic’s next opponent will be Miomir Kecmanovic, who earlier completed a 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Australian John Millman to reach the quarter-finals for the second year in a row. Djokovic leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 1-0 after defeating Kecmanovic in the quarter-finals in Belgrade in 2021.