Novak Djokovic reveals speaking to himself in the mirror of locker room helped him rally from two sets down to defeat Laslo Djere; Iga Swiatek routs Kaja Juvan
Novak Djokovic returns to Laslo Djere in New York on Friday. Pics/AFP
Novak Djokovic rallied from two sets down against compatriot Laslo Djere to avoid his earliest US Open exit since 2006 on Friday, while Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff closed in on a blockbuster clash. Djokovic tapped into his unrivalled powers of recovery to reach the last 16 and keep alive his quest for a record-extending men’s 24th Grand Slam crown with a 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 win over the 32nd-seeded Djere. “It was one of the toughest matches I’ve played here in many years,” said Djokovic.
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Lost to Hewitt as a teen
After coasting through two rounds, Djokovic risked failing to make the second week in New York for the first time since losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the third round as a teenager 17 years ago. An inspired Djere broke in the opening game en route to bagging the first set and did so again midway through the second set to put the 28-year-old in sight of an improbable victory.
Iga Swiatek
But Djokovic showed why he will reclaim the World No. 1 ranking after the tournament, displaying his trademark resilience to wriggle his way out of a two-set hole for the eighth time in his career at a Grand Slam. The only other time he escaped such a predicament at the US Open came when he won the first of his three titles in 2011 after saving two match points against Roger Federer in the semi-finals.
Djokovic revealed he had given himself an angry pep talk in the locker room after falling two sets behind. “I did a little pep talk in the mirror,” he said. “I laughed at myself because I was so pissed off with the way I played, to try and lift my spirits up. I’ve done it a few times before in my career and it hasn’t worked but tonight it did and I’m grateful.”
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Meanwhile, the in-form Gauff, coming off titles in Washington and Cincinnati, also had to dig deep to withstand Belgium’s Elise Mertens as the American, 19, fought her way to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Gauff faces Wozniacki
She finished off in style by winning 10 games on the bounce to book a fourth-round meeting with Caroline Wozniacki, moving her one win away from a possible blockbuster quarter-final with Swiatek.
The Pole briefly put sentiment to one side as she demolished 145th-ranked Slovenian qualifier and close friend Kaja Juvan 6-0, 6-1. Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman to successfully defend her US Open crown since Serena Williams won a hat-trick of titles from 2012-2014.
Former World No. 1 Wozniacki, playing her first Grand Slam in over three years, kept her fairytale US Open return going with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Jennifer Brady.
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