Djokovic struggles to overcome opening match of Srpska Open

As the tournament's number one seed, Novak Djokovic was given a bye into the first round. The Serbian will face Luca Van Assche in the second round. The 18-year-old Frenchman, ranked 87th in the world , defeated Stan Wawrinka in the first round.

Djokovic won the right to enter the quarterfinals of Srpska Open 2023 (Photo: AP).

Facing Djokovic, Van Assche even had a break to take a 5-4 lead in set 1. With his class, Djokovic reclaimed the lost serve game to tie the score at 5-5. However, in the tie-break that followed, Van Assche played confidently, scoring consecutive points to win set 7-6.

In set 2, everything was under Nole's control. Djokovic had 2 breaks and easily won this set with a score of 6-3 after a missed net shot by Van Assche, tying the score at 1-1 after two sets.

In the decisive third set, Djokovic showed his class by continuously winning breaks and then deciding the match when his opponent hit a backhand serve out, helping the number one seed win 6-2 in set 3.

Defeating Luca Van Assche 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 in round 2, Novak Djokovic easily entered the quarterfinals of Srpska Open 2023. Nole's opponent will be the winner of the match between Dusan Lajovic - Gregoire Barrere.

The Srpska Open (also known as the Banja Luka Open) is an ATP Masters 250 clay tournament held in Bosnia & Herzegovina. It was created to replace the Serbia Open. Novak Djokovic's younger brother, Djordje Djokovic, is the CEO of the Srpska Open. Djokovic's family is applying to upgrade the Srpska Open to an ATP 500 tournament, the equivalent of the Barcelona Open.

Rafael Nadal's chances of attending Roland Garros are in doubt

In a recent interview with RMC, Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's uncle, revealed more about the Spanish tennis player's condition: "I spoke to Rafa on April 15, he will only return to competition if he is 100% fit.

Nadal has not played since being eliminated in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 18 (Photo: AP).

Rafael knows that's for the best. At the Australian Open, Rafa tried to play when he wasn't in that state and something bad happened. I don't know if Nadal can play at Roland Garros. Now, what we have to do is wait."

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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/djokovic-vat-va-vuot-qua-tran-dau-mo-man-srpska-open-20230420085201874.htm