Defending champion Novak Djokovic notched his 90th US Open victory on Wednesday after his fellow Serbian, Laslo Djere, retired in the third set of their second-round match. Djokovic, a four-time US Open champion, was leading 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 when Djere was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Djere, ranked 109th in the world, had pushed Djokovic to five sets at the US Open last year. However, this time, he required a medical time-out to address an injury just before losing the second set. Djokovic, 37, also needed attention from a trainer for what appeared to be a side strain after winning the first set.
With this victory, Djokovic becomes the only man to have won 90 matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments. Reflecting on the match, Djokovic said, “It’s not what we want to see when there’s a retirement. Laslo had an injury that kept him off the tour for some time, and he’s been struggling to come back. He’s such a good player in these conditions, and the second set should have been his, as he was 4-2 up. I don’t know if my winning the second set probably put more burden on him.”
Djokovic’s next opponent will be Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, whom he defeated earlier this year at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, with each match extending to four sets. Popyrin, currently ranked 28th in the world, is in excellent form, having recently won the prestigious Montreal Masters just before the US Open.
“He’s getting closer and closer, knocking on the door,” Djokovic said of Popyrin. “We always knew he had a big serve, but now he’s more consistent and making fewer errors. He’s pumped and playing some good tennis.”
