Novak Djokovic admits there is room for improvement in his game after reaching the last 32 of the US Open.
The world No.2 was leading compatriot Laslo Djere 6-4, 6-4, 2-0, before he was forced to retire from their match due to injury. His win has set yet another record in the sport with Djokovic becoming the first man in the Open Era to claim 90 or more victories at every Grand Slam tournament. At Flushing Meadows, the only male player to have won more matches than him is Jimmy Connors.
“It’s not what we want to see when there’s a retirement. Laslo had an injury which took him off the tour for some time and he’s been struggling to come back,” said Djokovic.
“He’s such a good player in these conditions and the second set should have been his, he was 4-2 up.
“I don’t know if (my) winning the second set probably put more burden on him.”
Despite the victory, there are still areas of Djokovic’s game he needs to work on. Against Djere, he only managed to get 47% of his first serves in and hit more unforced errors than winners (26-18). He is playing in his first tournament since winning gold on clay at the Paris Olympics. The last time he played a hardcourt event was in March.
“I haven’t really been serving well the first two matches here, so I’m still kind of trying to find that rhythm and tempo on the serve.” He said.
“If you don’t have a good percentage of first serves in, you have to work for your points. Particularly against a player like Djere, who is really good from baseline from both ends, forehand and backhand. Just a very solid player. Likes to attack, but he is also comfortable defending.”
On top of his serving woes, Djokovic also called for a medical time-out after winning the first set to treat what appeared to be a side strain issue. Although he didn’t elaborate on the issue during his press conference.
The 37-year-old is bidding to become the first player in history to win a 25th Grand Slam title. In the next round, he will take on Australia’s Alexi Popyrin who he has a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record against. Popyrin defeated Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-4, 6-0, in his second round match.
“He’s been playing some great tennis, so no reason for him not to believe that he can put up a great performance, and he’s going to go for the win. I know that.” Djokovic commented.
“But I know what to expect as well. We played a couple of times. I’m going to, of course, do my homework, analyze those matches, and see what needs to be done.”
