Novak Djokovic survived an early dip in the Belgrade Open, the ATP tournament in the complex that bears the Serbian tennis player’s name. The No. 1 player in the world had to go deep in order to defeat fellow countryman Laszlo Djiri: 2-6 7-6 (6) 7-6 (4). The match on the central court in Novak Center took about 3.5 hours.
Djokovic, who was “goodbye” in the first round, will meet another national in the quarter-finals with Miomir Kekmanovic. The Serbian won the Belgrade Open in 2009 and 2011. Last year, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini was victorious on clay in the Serbian capital.
Djokovic was recently eliminated at the Monte Carlo Masters by Spaniard Alejandro Davidovic Fokina, who then advanced to the final. It was only the second tournament this season for Djokovic, who did not want to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and was therefore not welcome at the Australian Open and the Masters tournaments in the United States.
The twenty-time Grand Slam champion can take part in the clay court tournament in Rome next month. The president of the Italian Tennis Federation said, on Tuesday, that Djokovic, a five-time winner in Rome, is also welcome without a vaccination.
