US Open star pulls off ‘shot of the match’ as Novak Djokovic applauds
Laslo Djere was applauded by Novak Djokovic after hitting an unimaginable shot towards his fellow Serb throughout their third-round assembly on the US Open. Djere was heading in the right direction to ship Djokovic crashing out of the match after profitable the primary two units however the latter dug deep to safe a hard-earned victory in three hours and 45 minutes.
Djere got here flying out of the blocks in New York as he raced right into a two-set lead, capitalising on Djokovic’s sluggish begin by placing his service recreation to good use. A big upset was on the playing cards however Djokovic finally managed to claw his approach again into the competition.
The 36-year-old pegged Djere again by profitable the third set earlier than his unfancied opponent responded by producing arguably the shot of the tournament early within the fourth. Djokovic was in full management in the course of the level in query however was left flummoxed by a second of brilliance when a pinpoint backhand return from Djere dipped contained in the white line.
It got here after Djokovic had approached the online earlier than opening up his physique to unleash a strong forehand into the far nook of the court docket. His shot would often have been a sure-fire winner however Djere managed to flick an ideal backhand over the online and previous his reverse quantity earlier than it bounced inside the road to safe the purpose.
The shot obtained a standing ovation from the capability crowd in attendance, whereas Djokovic responded by flashing a thumbs-up gesture and clapping in acknowledgement. It did little to gas Djere’s hopes of victory, although, with Djokovic happening to win the fourth set earlier than claiming the fifth to finish a formidable comeback.
The end result marked the eighth time Djokovic had battled again from a two-set deficit, whereas it was solely his second time on the US Open after he famously fought again to defeat Roger Federer in 2011. He will face Borna Gojo within the fourth spherical on Sunday as he seems to keep up his hopes of securing a fourth title at Flushing Meadows with one other well-earned victory.
Speaking after the match, Djokovic mentioned: “It was one of the toughest matches that I have played here in many years and huge, huge credit to Laslo for playing some of the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play. I honestly have never seen him play like this, he was feeling the ball extremely well.
“Everything was form of in his putting zone. He was tactically ready very nicely. He began the match very, superb, he was much more comfy than me. I used to be defending principally within the first two units. I feel the message is distributed to the remainder of the sphere, clearly, that I’m nonetheless capable of play 5 units deep at evening, and coming from two units down at all times sends a robust message to future opponents.”