Novak Djokovic reaches third round of US Open after opponent retires in third set due to injury

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Open match that Novak Djokovic already expected to be difficult threatened to become a gamble as he struggled with his serve.

Djokovic missed more than he scored and was unable to score many quick points on Wednesday night. He acknowledged that he should have lost the second set and if his opponent had not been injured and had to retire, he might not even have won the match.

After that, the defending champion only looked forward.

“The matches will only get harder from now on. I know that, but I'm fine,” Djokovic said. “I'll find my way, as I have done many times in my career.”

Djokovic reached the third round when Laslo Djere retired while the number two seed was leading his Serbian compatriot 6-4, 6-4, 2-0.

Djere was leading 4-2 in the second set when he appeared to have pain in his hip and was visited by a trainer later in the set. He finished that set, which lasted 69 minutes, after the first lasted 60 minutes, but it didn't last much longer.

“Ultimately, it wasn't the kind of result we want to see as players or spectators, but I think that's probably because of the physical battle we had in the first two sets,” Djokovic said.

For Djokovic, it was his 90th victory at the US Open, making him the first man to reach that total in all four Grand Slams. The 24-time major champion will play against 28th seed Alexei Popyrin on Friday.

Djere was the only player to win a set against Djokovic at last year's US Open, taking the first two sets in their third-round encounter before Djokovic caught up.

“So I knew before the match that I would have to really try and work hard for my points if I didn't serve well, which was the case,” Djokovic said. “That's probably why the two sets were played for over two hours.”

Djokovic hit just 47% of his first serves and appeared to be struggling physically early in the match, only his second since winning the Olympic gold medal.

Djere had two chances to break Djokovic's serve, which would have given him a 5-2 lead in the second set. Instead, he was not to win another game, as Djokovic broke to win the set when Djere ripped a forehand wide.

“All in all, of course, I have to be happy with the win,” said Djokovic, “and happy that in the important moments I managed to hit one more ball over the net than him, I guess to find the right shots or to anticipate them well, as I managed to do on the set point in the second set.”

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