Newsletter

Novak Djokovic was on the verge of elimination in “his home yard”, but he reacted and won his first match in two months

Novak Djokovic came back a set and a break against to beat his compatriot Laslo Djere on Wednesday in his debut at the ATP in Belgrade and thus avoided his third consecutive loss, in addition to win a game again after two months. The number 1 in the ranking came to be 3-4 in the second set and then 3-4 and 15-40 with his serve in the third, but finally reacted and stayed with the intense game 2-6, 7-6 ( 8-6) and 7-6 (7-4), after three hours and 21 minutes.

The winner of 20 Grand Slam titles dispute in his native country his third tournament of the season, after being deported before the start of the Australian Open for not being vaccinated against Covid-19. For this reason, he also missed the Indian Wells tournament and the Miami Open, both on US soil, since the corresponding permit was not granted.

Novak Djokovic’s win point and applause

After surprisingly falling in mid-February in the quarterfinals of the Dubai ATP against the Czech Jiri Vesely, Nole came back at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 last week and lost in his debut against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who then reached the final against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. His last victory had been against the Russian Karen Khachanov, in the second round of Dubai.

Djokovic watched as Spaniard Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open to achieve a record 21 Grand Slam singles titles, moving one step above Serbian and Swiss Roger Federer, both with 20. It was a difficult start to the year for the player 34 years old, on and off the pitch, but in “the patio of his house” he demonstrated his fighting ability, despite not being in his best shape due to the lack of competition pace.

A joy for the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who won an epic match against his compatriot Laslo Djere in Belgrade

Djokovic, who is seeking his first title since lifting the Paris Masters 1000 trophy last November, he has not lost to a compatriot in almost ten years, since Janko Tipsarevic beat him in Madrid in 2012.

The world number 1 will face another Serb in the quarterfinals, Miomir KecmanovicDavid Nalbandian’s pupil, who in the previous instance won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) against Australian John Millman.

The public returned to enjoy their idol;  Novak Djokovic debuted with a marathon conquest at the ATP 250 in Belgrade
The public returned to enjoy their idol; Novak Djokovic debuted with a marathon conquest at the ATP 250 in Belgrade ANDREJ ISAKOVIC – AFP

Besides, the Serbian learned that he will be able to play the Rome Open. “The rules for the participation of the players are established by the government and the ATP,” announced the president of the federation, Angelo Binaghi, at the presentation of the tournament whose main draw will take place from May 8 to 15. To enter Italy, a certificate of vaccination against Covid-19 or of having recovered from the disease or a previous negative test is required. Djokovic claims that he tested positive for the virus in at least two tests, the last one in December.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending