Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic Photo: PHOTOSPORT
A tenacious Novak Djokovic survived a US Open late night fright battling back from two sets down to tame fellow-Serb Laslo Djere 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 on Saturday, and move into the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
On the ropes and reeling Djokovic, as he has done many times before, he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in front a record crowd inside a breathless Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
It marked the 38th time Djokovic has won a five-setter and kept alive the 36-year-old's quest for a fourth U.S. Open crown that would pull him level with Margaret Court's record haul of 24 Grand Slams.
Djokovic had looked imperious in his opening two matches surrendering only 11 games in blowout wins over Frenchman Alexandre Muller and Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles but his 32nd seeded countryman proved a far tougher test.
The two Serbs had only clashed once before that in Belgrade last year but there were signs then that Djere was a danger, with the contest needing three sets and two tie-breaks before Djokovic claim the win.
Djere 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 set for an unexpected and well-earned 1-0 lead.
Facing one of the greatest players of all-time under the bright lights of tennis's biggest stage, a fearless Djere could not be rattled piling on the pressure with another break to go up 4-3 in the second on the way to a 2-0 lead that left Arthur Ashe Stadium stunned.
Djokovic was not without his opportunities, but did not capitalise on his chances until backed into a corner.
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.
With cracks in Djere's game starting to appear, Djokovic continued to dial up the pressure breaking again to open the fourth set pulling a mighty fist pump from the 36-year-old.
But Djere was not done immediately breaking back, setting the stage for what was a marathon third game that saw Djokovic regain control with yet another break.
Moving in for the kill Djokovic swept the next six games to take the fourth set and a 2-0 lead in the decisive fifth that he would never surrender.
Rybakina crashes out
Romanian Sorana Cirstea sent big-hitting fourth seed Elena Rybakina tumbling out with a thrilling 6-3 6-7(6) 6-4 victory to reach the fourth round for the first time in her career.
Rybakina came into the clash the fresher of the two players after her second-round opponent Ajla Tomljanovic pulled out, but the Indian Wells and Rome champion, who had strapping on her right shoulder, made a sluggish start.
Cirstea broke the former Wimbledon champion in the fourth game of the first set and the seasoned world number 30 continued to dictate points from the centre of the court while taking an early lead in the contest.
The 33-year-old, who had lost her previous two meetings with Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina, pounced early in the second set but dropped serve immediately as her opponent found her range again with some blistering groundstrokes.
Australian Open runner-up Rybakina failed to make the most of two set points at 6-5 and squandered two more chances to draw level in the tie break but got across the line with a cross-court winner, much to the joy of the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd.
But Cirstea composed herself to take charge of the decider and went up 4-1 before staving off a late comeback attempt by Rybakina and closing out the match with a decisive late break after a double fault from her opponent.
"I've been paying for quite a few years and this was the best crowd I've ever played in front of," Cirstea said.
"Thank you for the support, it's 12 o'clock so thank you for hanging out and making this amazing atmosphere.
"I'm very happy with the win today. I've lost twice against her and she's a good player, number four in the world and 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 but the Romanian said she was not looking too far ahead.
"It's one match at a time," Cirstea said.
"At this stage in the tournament, everyone plays great and I'm glad that the work is paying off.
"Never stop believing in the things you do and the work you do because sooner or later if you put in the right energy... the things you want in life will come to you."
- Reuters