The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium saw something they had never seen before on Wednesday night.
In the heat of Flushing, a staggering Novak Djokovic stood there, looking out of breath.
In just 90 minutes of the second round match against Laslo Djere, only 14 games were completed.
Fans watched as the defending US Open champion took various measures to beat the heat during the changeovers: He put ice on his shoulders, changed his shirt and got a chest massage from a trainer after appearing disheveled.
Nevertheless, it was not the world number two who gave up in the middle of the match, but his Serbian compatriot, who, due to an injury, won the match without a fight with 6:4, 6:4 and 2:0 in two hours and 16 minutes.
In the second set, Djere outplayed Djokovic, who had only 47 percent of his first serves in play and made eight double faults. However, in the seventh game, Djokovic fought back to trail just 4-3, eventually fighting through a deuce that helped him level the score.
“I didn’t serve really well in the first two games here, so I’m trying to find my rhythm and my pace on the serve,” Djokovic said after the match. “I knew before the match that if I didn’t serve well, I would have to really try and work hard on my points, which was the case, and I guess that’s what led to the two sets being played over two hours.”
“Ultimately, it’s not the kind of finish we players or the crowd want to see,” Djokovic said. “I think that’s probably because of the physical battle we had in the first two sets. All in all, of course, I have to be happy with the win and happy that I managed to hit one more ball over the net than him in the important moments.”
Djere, 29, threw his racket on the ground and screamed in frustration towards his box after losing his lead while apparently tending to an abdominal injury that was briefly attended to by medical staff during the change of ends.
Djokovic caught up and won the second set, and after two games in the third set, Djere waved the white flag and secured the walkover victory.
It was expected to be a tough match after Djere forced Djokovic to a five-set match in the third round just a year ago. The Serbian underdog also won in the first round on Monday in five sets against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Australian Alexei Popyrin is Djokovic’s next opponent on Friday in the third round of the Grand Slam tournament. Djokovic has already beaten Popyrin this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon – both matches lasted four sets.
American Taylor Fritz defeated Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-1 and advanced to the third round of the US Open.
The top-seeded American in the men’s tournament will face Argentinian Francisco Comesana on Friday.
