It has been noticed on numerous occasions that Novak Djokovic brings his best to the table whenever he has his backs against the wall. Wednesday night of the US Open quarterfinal against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini was no different for the World no.1 Tennis player.
Djokovic lost the opening set against the Italian by 7-5 but bounced back in style as he mostly does. The Serbian went on to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in three hours and 30 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium to book his place in the semifinal of the US Open.
Djokovic admitted that it was the best three sets of Tennis he has played so far in the tournament as he took his game to another level. The World no.1 had hailed Berrettini as the ‘Hammer of Tennis’ for potent serve and forehand before the game but Djokovic was able to maintain his wood on the Italian.
This was the 80th win for Djokovic in US Open and improved his quarterfinals record to 12-0 in the tournament.
“It was a great match, a lot of energy on the court, off the court as well. Matteo is a terrific player, an established Top 10 player. Every time we face each other it’s a close battle,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.
“When I lost the first set I managed to forget about it and move on, kind of be in the moment and I think I was locked in from the beginning of the second set. I took my tennis to a different level. It was the best three sets of tennis I’ve played so far in the tournament for sure.”
Djokovic smashed 44 winners including 12 aces and won 74% of his first-serve points. Furthermore, Djokovic hit 28 unforced errors as compared to Berrettini’s 43.
“I wanted to start out the match well, I thought I did tonight. I had some breakpoints midway through the first set but he has one of the best serves in the game,” he said. “There’s a reason why they call him a hammer in tennis. He’s got a big serve and forehand.
“Next to [Juan Martin] del Potro probably the biggest serve and forehand we have in tennis so I had to be really focused on every point, not allowing him to come back into the match. I think it was a great performance overall.”
Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in the semifinal of the US Open. The German had defeated World no.1 in the semifinal of the Tokyo Olympics.
