Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round of the US Open with great difficulty. The 23-time Grand Slam winner was trailing 2-0 in sets against compatriot Laslo Dejeri, but left the track as the winner of the night from Friday to Saturday.
Djokovic won the 3.5-hour match 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. The match did not end until 1:30 am (local time).
The 36-year-old world number two, who will take first place again after the US Open, looked set to be eliminated in the first two sets. It would have been a sensation: in the last fourteen times Djokovic has competed at the US Open, he’s reached at least the fourth round.
In the third set, the strength of Jerry, ranked 38 in the world, clearly diminished, and he was no longer able to match Djokovic’s speed and strong play. She will face the three-time US Open winner, in the fourth round, Croatian Borna Jogo, ranked No. 105 in the world.
Rybakina is knocked out by Cirstea
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz did not play at the US Open on Friday. The former will play in the third round on Saturday against Britain’s 26th seed Daniel Evans. Djokovic and Alcaraz can only meet in the final. It would be a repeat of the Wimbledon final, which the twenty-year-old Spaniard won in July.
In the women’s tournament, the curtain fell on fourth seed Elena Rybakina in the third round on Friday. And the Kazakh lost in three sets to Romanian Sorana Cirstea: 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4.
The 24-year-old Rybakina won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last year, but she is still waiting for the odd US Open title. Her third-round reach in New York equaled her best performance of 2021.
“Professional reader. Award-winning gamer. Zombie buff. Social media junkie. Bacon maven. Web scholar.”