Novak Djokovic fights past Lleyton Hewitt into the quarters – London Olympics
Second seed, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, had to run for his money in his latest match, as he fought back from a deficit of one set to beat Australia’s former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, in the third round of London Olympics
on Wednesday.
Djokovic lost the opener 4-6 but then captured the following two, winning the mach in three sets 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 on the grass courts of All England Club.
There was no drama at the start of the contest, as Djokovic and Hewitt could not break each other in first eight games to square off the score at 4-4. The Australian star managed to capture a breakthrough in the ninth and capitalised
on it to win 6-4.
In the second set, Hewitt and Djokovic held their serve in the opening seven games to take the score to 4-3 in favour of the latter. The Serbian struck in the eighth to move ahead 5-3 but Hewitt bounced back immediately to level
the proceedings at 5-5. The Australian player, however, failed to hold when he served to stay in the set at 5-6, losing it 5-7.
Djokovic and Hewitt started the final set by winning their opening serves and equalising the score at 1-1. Later on, it was an all Djokovic show, as he did not allow the 2002 Wimbledon Champion to win even a single game, grabbing
five in a row to seal it 6-1.
Talking about his strategy, Djokovic said, “I was trying to focus on my game and trying to see what I could do to get into his serve. He was serving really well, with a lot of efficiency. I just needed to step in a bit. That’s
what I did [and] I changed the momentum in the middle of the second set when I made a break. Yes, he [broke back], but I felt I got back into the match.”
The Serbian praised Hewitt for putting up a brilliant show. He added, “I think he plays his best tennis on grass. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a great competitor. He has shown again that he’s a player that loves to play
on a big stage. He loves to play big matches.”
Djokovic is aiming for double glory at these Olympics, as he will also re-claim his top ranking by winning the Gold Medal.
The Serbian is slated to take on the fifth seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, in the quarter-finals.
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