Novak Djokovic warns 'the deeper I go in the tournament, the better I feel' after surviving Zachary Svajda scare to progress at US Open

Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the US Open after an early scare against American Zachary Svajda. The 22-year-old took the first set against the seventh seed in a tie-break, but the Serbian bounced back and won the next three sets 6-3 6-3 6-1 to advance unscathed at Flushing Meadows. The 38-year-old will now face the winner of Cameron Norrie's clash with Francisco Comesana.

Highlights: Bonzi beats Medvedev in fiery clash as Djokovic prevails

Video credit: SNTV

Novak Djokovic survived an early scare against American Zachary Svajda in the second round of the US Open to advance with a 6-7(5) 6-3 6-3 6-1 win.

Svajda took the first set in a tie-break, capitalising on some uncharacteristic errors from the 24-time Grand Slam champion at Arthur Ashe Stadium to win the set in 61 minutes.

Djokovic admitted he was "not happy" with his tennis at the start of the match but swiftly turned on the style in the second set, breaking the world No. 145 in the sixth game and not looking back.

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From there it was a procession, and the Serbian quickly took complete control of the match when taking the third set, before comfortably winning the fourth.

There looked to be the makings of a real shock on the cards as Svajda calmly reached the first set tie-break and appeared capable of ending Djokovic's perfect record of reaching the third round of every Grand Slam entered since 2017.

That calmness turned into brilliance in the tie-break itself, with the Californian faultless in a 27-shot rally that Djokovic eventually put wide to hand him a 5-4 lead.

He again showed wonderful composure on a second set point and when Djokovic went long, there were a few murmurs among the early spectators on the primary court, as Svajda won the tie-break 7-5.

Djokovic's 22-year-old opponent notably went down multiple times with a thigh issue and the seventh seed noted the change in the power of his serve as he began to dominate in the second set.

"[I did not feel] that great to be honest, I was not very happy with my tennis for the first part of the match but also credit to Zach," he said.

"It is unfortunate he struggled with injury but kudos for him for staying on the court.

"It was obvious he was not serving as well as in the first set and a half, but I wish him all the best."

The injury concerns began to seriously hamper Svajda at the same time as Djokovic appeared to regain his composure, which did not bode well for the American.

Parity was broken for Djokovic to go 4-2 up and when holding the next game, there seemed to be only one winner.

He promptly secured the second set, before confidently winning the third and by the fourth set, there really was no doubt about the end result.

After a tough first set that lasted over an hour, the remaining three sets were done and dusted in just 90 minutes.

So far, to many onlookers, Djokovic has not looked like a four-time winner and six-time finalist at Flushing Meadows, but he is hoping he can pull off his usual trick of getting steadily stronger in the latter stages of a major.

"That is what I am hoping [to keep improving]. That was the case for most of my Grand Slam career, the deeper I go in the tournament the better I feel about the game," said Djokovic

"[I want to improve with] a lot of recovery stuff off the court and make myself able to perform at the highest level. I have always enjoyed playing on the highest stage."

Djokovic will face the winner of Cameron Norrie’s match with Argentinian Francisco Comesana in the third round.

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