Djokovic escapes defeat at Serbia Open

Coming back from a week of early elimination at the Monte Carlo Masters, Djokovic continued to have a slow start when fighting eight-year-old junior Laslo Djere. The number one player in the world lost the first serve game, early to let his opponent create a gap of two games. Djokovic only earned two break-points in four games of interception and failed to take advantage of it. He did not have a solution for difficult serve situations and then finished in the two corners of Djere’s field. Djokovic has been serving badly in this set, with a first-ball ratio of only 43% and winning second-serve points by 53%. In the closing game of the first set, Djere saved a break-point, then successfully used the fourth set-point to win 6-2.

Djokovic improved in the second set, launching more difficult shots. But, he still fell into a chasing game because he let his juniors take advantage of the break-point first. In the next ball game, the 20 Grand Slam owner was 30-40 behind but scored three points to equalize 4-4. The willingness to pull the opponent into the series of durable balls helps Djokovic play more and more into his hands. He had a chance to finish the set in game 12 when Djere served. But, Djokovic missed three set-points and had to enter the tie-break series. The two players took turns losing the mini-break in this series, before Djokovic scored two points in a row to win 8-6.

Djere lost the first game of the third set, but still played well to win the next game. The 50 ATP player was close to the biggest victory of his career when he led Djokovic 4-3 and had two break-points. But, the attacking forehand error caused Djere to miss the chance to win the game and then have to play a second tie-break against the experienced senior. Djere leads 4-3 and stands in front of two serve situations. But he missed the beat and lost both of these points, before receiving a 4-7 defeat.

Djokovic won his 26th match in 30 times against Serbian players. He has not lost to a countryman opponent since the defeat at the hands of Janko Tipsarevic in 2012. Djokovic’s next opponent is another countryman, Miomir Kecmanovic. Last year, Djokovic beat Kecmanovic at the Belgrade Open.

Djokovic struggles to win at Serbia Open

“I think for most of the match today, Djere played better than me,” Djokovic said in a post-match interview. “He controlled the game, attacked well. I didn’t feel good with my rhythm. I served very badly, and was erratic on long balls. But, the positive thing was fitness. Mine improved after the three-and-a-half hour game. That’s something I didn’t have at Monte Carlo.”

Nhan Dat