Novak Djokovic has insisted that he ‘isn’t mendacity’ when he credit the pep discuss that he gave himself previous to beating Laslo Djere on the US Open. The Serb needed to combat from two units right down to see off his opponent and e-book himself a spot within the subsequent spherical.

Speaking after the match, Djokovic defined in an on-court interview: “Actually I did. And I’m not lying. I did a pep talk in the mirror and kind of laughed at myself because I was so p***ed off, annoyed, and agitated with the result, but I had to force myself to lift myself up, to lift the spirits up a little bit.

“I've done it a few times in my career. It worked. A few times it didn't work, but tonight it did and I'm grateful.”