World number one Novak Djokovic is into the Belgrade quarter-finals after a 2-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4) win over compatriot Laslo Djere in 3 hours and 24 minutes.
Djokovic survived a marathon match to kickstart his clay court season in front of his home fans in Serbia.
It was Djere who started the match more aggressively as he dictated the tempo of the match from the back of the court.
Djokovic took a while to get into the game physically and tactically as he lacked point construction and consistency in the early stages of the match.
Two breaks of serve was enough for Djere as he continued his form from Monte-Carlo into Belgrade and took the opening set with relative ease.
However the world number one doesn’t give up without a fight and used his determination to get back into the match.
Djokovic returned well to start the second set and created a few break points early on but Djere produced big winners to save them with ease.
Despite the top seed’s hard work to get the break, it would be Djere who would earn the first break of the second set with some hard-hitting tennis and epic defensive shots.
The 4-3 lead didn’t last long as Djokovic stormed back and broke back for 4-4.
Despite both players earning big chances neither player converted as the second set went to a tiebreak.
Djokovic controlled most of the tiebreak and would win the big points to take the tiebreak 8-6 as the set lasted 86 minutes.
In the final set Djere continued to push Djokovic to his physical limits and earned the early break with his fourth break points.
Just like in the second set though Djokovic’s ability to problem solve saw the world number one break back with ease.
Both players had to save break points but in the end the final set went to a tiebreak and Djokovic’s mental strength pushed him over the line to seal a crucial win in his season.
A crucial match on Djokovic’s road to getting match minutes ahead of Roland Garros and a crucial confidence-boosting result.
Next for Djokovic will be Miomir Kecmanovic after the fast-rising Serb defeated John Millman in straight sets.
Kecmanovic enters the clay season having reached the quarter-finals at Indian Wells and Miami.
