Heckler unsettles Djokovic as golden slam edges closer

Novak Djokovic overcame some crowd disturbance during his second round tie with Tallon Griekspoor to ease ever closer to that golden slam with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 straight sets win over the Dutchman at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The world No.1 spoke to the chair umpire about someone making noise in the middle of points, and then settled back into his customary rhythm to outlast his 25-year-old opponent.

“I came out on the court with the right intensity, with the right focus. Definitely was a better performance from my side than a couple of nights ago,” Djokovic said.

“I am motivated as ever to do well. I am trying to be the best I can be every single day and let’s see what happens.”

Djokovic said he watched his opponent against Jan-Lennard Struff a couple of days earlier and was impressed with his serve.

“So I knew I that the keys of the match, one of the biggest keys, was my return, trying to make him play, trying to make him move.”

Djokovic took out the match in 99 minutes, winning it with his 13th ace of the night.

The Serb is now just five wins from the historic golden slam, the first men’s singles calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver 52 years ago.

He will face Kei Nishikori in the third round.

Peter Rowe

Recent Posts

Nadal goes down in final match

Rafael Nadal lined up for what was to be the final match of his career…

3 days ago

Sinner flattens de Minaur in runaway home start

Jannik Sinner took charge in front of his home crowd on Sunday, crushing ATP Finals…

2 weeks ago

Madcap Medvedev suffers temperamental Turin Finals loss

Daniil Medvedev went into meltdown mode on Sunday during a highly charged 6-4, 6-3 loss, with opponent…

2 weeks ago

Team Sinner considering skipping Monte Carlo

Jannik Sinner could well be missing from the opening European clay event of next season…

2 weeks ago

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

1 month ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

1 month ago