04 September,2021 08:11 AM IST | New York | AFP
Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Tallon Griekspoor during his second round match of the US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Thursday. PIC/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic says being mentioned in the same breath with Rod Laver and battling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have energised his quest to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam.
World No. 1 Djokovic advanced to the third round of the US Open on Thursday, putting him five match wins shy of completing the first men's singles calendar-year Grand Slam since Australian legend Laver in 1969.
The Serbian, 34, cruised past 121st-ranked Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to book a third-round date with 2014 US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori of Japan. "Being only in the conversation with Rod Laver... is really an honour. I try to draw strength and energy from that," Djokovic said. "With history on the line, the excitement grows, pressure grows, but experience and understanding of what I have to do on a daily basis to reach the goal allows me to stay in the tournament, so to say."
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Djokovic has already owned all four Slam titles at once after winning the 2016 French Open and said that was the moment he felt a calendar Slam was possible. "That's where I felt this is achievable, it's reachable, I could do it in one year," he said, noting how Federer and Nadal had come close and adding, "Their dominance on the tour made me the player I am today."
Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev and top-ranked Ashleigh Barty rolled into the third round on Thursday while New York struggled to recover from a deadly storm and flash flooding. Barty dispatched Danish teen Clara Tauson 6-1, 7-5 and German fourth seed Zverev ripped 33rd-ranked Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-0, 6-3.
Also read: Novak Djokovic: It wasn't one of my best performances
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