{"id":327918,"date":"2023-09-02T06:11:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T06:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=327918"},"modified":"2023-09-02T11:01:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T11:01:35","slug":"sheer-willpower-helps-djokovic-avoid-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=327918","title":{"rendered":"'Sheer willpower' helps Djokovic avoid disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic<\/a> came all the way back from a two-set deficit to beat Laslo Djere 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round<\/a> of the US Open<\/a> to avoid what would have been his earliest exit there since 2006.<\/p>\n

The match began under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium and did not wrap up until more than three and a half hours later, concluding just after 1.30am.<\/p>\n

It was Djokovic's eighth career victory after dropping the opening two sets of a match. He also improved to 38-11 in five-setters over his career.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW LIVE:<\/strong> NRL and NRLW Saturday action<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Dogs must be 'honest' after year ends in turmoil<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Saved my life': Forgotten act from epic semi-final<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Aussie tennis legend Todd Woodbridge referred to the comeback on Nine's coverage as the reason why "Djokovic was one of the greatest to ever play this game."<\/p>\n

"It's the sheer willpower of the man," he added.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Djokovic has won three of his men\u2019s-record 23-time Grand Slam titles at Flushing Meadows and been the runner-up a half-dozen times, including in 2021.<\/p>\n

"I hope you enjoyed the show – it definitely was not so enjoyable for me, especially the first two sets," Djokovic said after the match.<\/p>\n

"One of the toughest matches I have ever played here."\ufeff<\/p>\n

Watch the 2023 US Open from Flushing Meadows LIVE and exclusive on Nine and<\/strong> 9Now<\/strong><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

Djokovic did not compete in the US Open last year because he couldn\u2019t travel to the United States as a foreigner who is not vaccinated against COVID-19; that rule was lifted this May.<\/p>\n

Djere was seeded 32nd and trying to make it to the fourth round at a major tournament for the first time.<\/p>\n

Both men are from Serbia and have known each other for years.<\/p>\n

They have practiced together, competed as doubles partners on tour and been Davis Cup teammates.<\/p>\n

— with AP.\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic came all the way back from a two-set deficit to beat Laslo Djere 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327918"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=327918"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327921,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327918\/revisions\/327921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/327920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=327918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=327918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=327918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}