Novak Djokovic hopes crowd ‘enjoyed show’ after fights back from two sets down to reach US Open last 16

NEW YORK – Novak Djokovic was so bemused by his poor performance after going two sets down to fellow Serb Laslo Djere in the third round of the US Open on Friday, that he gave himself a pep talk in the bathroom.

A record holder of 23 men’s Grand Slam titles, there was nobody else with better experience to give him advice.

And so the 36-year-old tapped into his unrivalled powers of recovery in front of a record crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and fought back to win 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 to move into the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.

It marked the 38th time Djokovic has won a five-setter and kept alive his quest for a fourth US Open crown that would pull him level with Margaret Court's record haul of 24 Grand Slams.

"I hope you enjoyed the show, it was not so enjoyable for me especially in the first two sets," he told the crowd.

“It was one of the toughest matches I have played here in many years.”

The Serb had looked imperious in his opening two matches, surrendering only 11 games in blowout wins over Alexandre Muller and Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

But his 32nd-seeded countryman proved a far tougher test.

The duo had clashed only once before in Belgrade last season but there were signs then that Djere was a danger, with the contest needing three sets and two tiebreaks before Djokovic claimed the win.

Djere, 28, signalled to Djokovic he was in for more of the same on Friday, when he broke the second seed to start the match and then held his nerve the rest of the set for an unexpected 1-0 lead.

Facing one of the greatest players of all time under the bright lights of tennis' biggest stage, a fearless Djere piled on the pressure to go 4-3 up in the second set on the way to a 2-0 lead that left the Arthur Ashe Stadium stunned.

With the crowd still buzzing, Djokovic came out for the third set with an urgency and energy missing in the opening two sets, breaking Djere at the first opportunity and again to go up 4-0 on the way to cutting the deficit to 2-1.

"I did a little pep talk in the mirror," he said about his bathroom break after the second set.

"I kind of laughed at myself because I was agitated and annoyed with the result. I had to kind of force myself to lift myself, to lift the spirits up.

“I’ve done it a few times before in my career, it worked. A few times it didn’t work, but tonight it did and I’m grateful.”

With cracks in Djere's game starting to appear, Djokovic continued to dial up the pressure, breaking again to open the fourth set with a mighty fist pump from the veteran.

From there, it was mostly Djokovic’s stage as he also took a 2-0 lead in the decisive fifth set that he did not surrender.

“Once I got the break in the third I thought ‘OK, I have a shot, I have a chance’,” he added.

“I might as well go after it. I started to play a bit more aggressive, started to read his games slightly more than I had in the first two sets and it worked well.

“But trust me, it was nerve-racking all the way till the last shot.”

Djokovic had risked failing to make the second week in New York for the first time since losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the third round as a teenager 17 years ago.

But now he will go on to face 105th-ranked Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo for a spot in the quarter-finals.

In the women’s draw, Romanian Sorana Cirstea sent big-hitting fourth seed Elena Rybakina tumbling out with

a thrilling 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 victory

to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time.

“I’m very happy with the win today. I’ve lost twice against her and she’s a good player,” she said.

“I knew it was going to be a tough battle. I’m just so happy, it’s a great moment for me.”

Up next for Cirstea is a clash with Swiss 15th seed Belinda Bencic. REUTERS, AFP