Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis legend, will face his compatriot Laslo Djere in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday. Djokovic, who is aiming for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title, will be looking to avoid a repeat of last year’s encounter, where Djere was the only player to take a set off him.
Djokovic, who recently triumphed at the Paris Olympics, will be eager to make a strong start against Djere, who is ranked 109th in the world. The 37-year-old Djokovic has been in impressive form this season, winning the Wimbledon and Italian Open titles.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Coco Gauff defeated 37-year-old Tatjana Maria in straight sets. Despite an erratic performance, Gauff managed to win the last seven games to seal the victory.
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka also advanced to the third round with a comfortable win over Lucia Bronzetti. The Belarusian is aiming to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win both hard court Grand Slam titles in the same year.
In other notable matches, seventh-seeded Zheng Qinwen rallied from a set down to defeat Erika Andreeva, while eighth-seeded Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova was upset by Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
In the men’s draw, fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany advanced in straight sets over Alexandre Muller. Zverev will next face Tomas Etcheverry, who overcame Francisco Cerundolo in a five-set thriller.
Sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev and Jiri Lehecka also battled through five sets to set up a third-round meeting. Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk also advanced with a hard-fought victory over Harriet Dart.
