New Delhi: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic beat compatriot Laslo Djere 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 in his opening match of the ATP event in Belgrade on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.
The 50-seeded Djere raced through the opening set by controlling the match and won against Djokovic 6-2. Though World No.01 was trailing 3-4 in the second set, he made breakpoints and forced a decider despite needing six points to win the tiebreaker.
Djokovic began the final set with two breakpoints and made two more break points before Djere made an unforced forehand error. The error led to a decider. Djere lost two forehand points, and Djokovic won the match 7-6.
The Grand Slam champion will face compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic slammed the Wimbledon committee on Thursday, April 21, 2022, for banning Russian and Belarusian players over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Wimbledon had banned Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 championship. The grasscourt Grand Slam is the first tennis tournament to ban individual competitors from the two countries, implying that players Daniil Medvedev from Russia and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will not play from June 27-July 10, 2022 tournaments.
I will always condemn war – I will never support the war, being myself a child of war. I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia, we all know what happened in 1999. Balkans have had many wars in recent history,” Djokovic told reporters.
“However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon. I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good,” he added.
(Avya Mathur)