For the second match in a row, Novak Djokovic has admitted that he has yet to find his best tennis after moving into the third round of the US Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion suffered an early scare against America’s Zachary Svajda, who took the first set off him before he battled back to win 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. Djokovic started the match out of sorts, with 14 out of his 25 unforced errors occurring during the opening set. However, he managed to regain his stronghold as Svajda started to physically struggle on court with suspected cramping in his legs and received a medical timeout for treatment.
Whilst it was a straightforward victory in the end, Djokovic is far from satisfied with his latest performance.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really happy with my tennis for the first part of the match,” he said afterwards.
“But also credit to Zach for playing some really high-quality tennis. Unfortunate that he obviously struggled with the injury towards the end of the second. But kudos to him for staying on the court.
“It was obvious that he couldn’t serve as well as he did for a set and a half.”
Earlier this week, the former world No.1 admitted he had concerns about his fitness after beating Learner Tien in the first round. Djokovic decided not to play any North American events leading up to the US Open, skipping the Masters 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.
Amid these concerns, Djokovic is hoping that he will be able to get back into top form by playing more matches.
“That was the case for most of my Grand Slam career. The deeper I go in the tournament, the better I feel about my game,” he explained.
“Obviously, a little bit different in the last couple of years for me, body-wise. I get wear and tear quicker than I ever used to. So I have to deal with that.
“A lot of recovery stuff off the court and trying to make myself able to perform at the highest level for as many hours as is necessary on the court.”
Djokovic has reached another milestone in his record-breaking following his latest triumph in New York. He has now won 191 hardcourt matches at Grand Slam events, which puts him level with Roger Federer for the most ever won by a male player. He will overtake the Swiss maestro if he wins his third round match later this week, which will be against either Francisco Comesaña or Cameron Norrie.
