24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic moved into the third round of the US Open as his compatriot Laslo Djere retired early in the third set. The second seed was leading 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 prior to the retirement under the roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victory made Djokovic the first man to reach 90 wins at each of the four Slams. He needs eight more victories to match Jimmy Connors' record for US Open match wins.
The first set went the entire hour. Djokovic took it, 6-4, having won all points on Djere's serve in the 10th.
The first game of the second set was another slugfest. It took 16 minutes and had four deuces as the stifling humidity took its toll. Djokovic fell to the court on several occasions - once on his braced right knee, the one which suffered a torn meniscus at the French Open back in May. But the Serb held serve despite his fifth double fault of the match.
In the third set, Djere did break the four-time US Open champion to go ahead 2-1, but was soon up 4-2 and seemed a near-certainty for the set. Djokovic rallied, though, winning the next two games to level it at 4-4 with nearly two hours of tennis played. The mood changed significantly when Djokovic went up 4-5 and called the physio and took a tablet. Both players were audibly breathing hard at times after extended rallies in the muggy weather. Djere called for a medical timeout to ease discomfort in his lower left abdomen.
After both guys went back on court, Djere tried holding serve to stay in the set, but hit a forehand long on set point to give Djokovic the second set 6-4 as well.
In the third set, Djokovic held serve for a 1-0 lead. In the next game, Djere lost every point on his own serve, crossed the net post, and retired after two hours, 16 minutes of play.
Djokovic will face Australia's Alexei Popyrin in Round 3. The 24-time major winner has beaten Popyrin all three times they've faced each other, including at two Slams in 2024 at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
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