Novak Djokovic Proves Jim Courier Wrong After American Predicted Serb Would Throw Away Second Set Against Djere

Novak Djokovic had a strong start to the second-round match against compatriot Laslo Djere. The World No.2 required an hour to clinch the opening set 6-4. However, midway into the second set, Djere was a break ahead, resulting in Jim Courier believing that the 4-time US Open champion would literally gift the set to his younger compatriot and conserve his energy to try and seal the game in the sets which were to follow.

Djokovic was in real trouble at one point in the second set, going 2-4, 15-40 down. The humidity in New York City seemed to have affected the 24-time Grand Slam winner’s physicality, apart from the match situation at the time. Djere was also playing an attacking game at that point.

The evident dip in Djokovic’s performance prompted Courier on commentary to claim that a possible reason for the superstar to have no intent of winning the second set is that he always looks to play the long game. The American legend added that the Serb has enough experience in playing in such situations in Grand Slams to give himself more chances to win points.

Courier is one of the best analysts in the tennis world and has been respected for his takes for over two decades. However, this was one of the times when his predictions turned out to be horribly wrong. It is a shocking claim to make, assuming that Djokovic in fact, fights for every point possible and any good player like him will look to finish off his opponent in 3 sets itself in a Grand Slam match.

Djokovic seemed to have shifted gears and elevated his performance from that point onwards. Despite facing two break points, the 37-year-old went on to hold his serve. Additionally, the former World No.1 also won four in a row, clinching the second set, 6-4.

Unfortunately, Djere had to retire from the match after going down 0-2 in the third set. Despite clinching a historic 90^th win at the North American major tournament, Djokovic admitted to being heartbroken for his countryman.

Djokovic doesn’t believe his win against Laslo Djere was ideal

Despite the match ending nearly at 11.30 PM ET, there was a large crowd present at the Arthur Ashe Stadium for the encounter between the two Serbs. Hence, it was sad that such a well-contested battle between the two, had to come to such an abrupt end.

During his on-court interview with Nick Kyrgios, Djokovic was quoted as saying:

“It’s not what we want or what the crowd wants… To see a walkover. He had an injury that took him off the tour for some time and he is struggling to come back physically to his level. He’s such a good player. It should’ve been his 2nd set honestly. He was 4-2 up. I don’t know whether me winning the 2nd set put more burden on him mentally. Overall it was a big fight. Over 2 hours for 2 sets.”

Despite the premature conclusion of the second-round matchup, Djokovic will benefit from the extra rest. Considering that his next opponent is the reigning Canadian Open 2024 champ – Alexei Popyrin, Djokovic will need to improve his game to comfortably book a spot in the fourth round.