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via Reuters

via Reuters

Novak Djokovic has been facing a lot of issues since the beginning of this year. Owing to his vaccination status and the vaccine mandates imposed by many countries,  he has been unable to play at several events. However, now that several countries have been relaxing their vaccination mandates, things might be better for the Serb moving forward.

After missing out on the Australian Open, the Serb suffered an early exit in Dubai. He missed Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami last month as he was denied entry into the US owing to his vaccination status. Things went from bad to worse for Djokovic after he ran out of steam in Monaco last week as he subsequently lost his tournament opener at the Monte Carlo Masters in his comeback match.

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Currently, Djokovic is in his hometown, Belgrade, featuring at the Serbia Open. He survived a massive scare in his tournament opener against his compatriot Laslo Djere. 18-time Major champion, Chris Evert, in awe of the sheer brilliance displayed by the Serb, expressed her thoughts on Twitter.

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Chris Evert reacts to Djokovic’s fight

After receiving a bye in his first round, the top seed, Djokovic began his campaign at the Serbia Open in his Round-of-16 clash against compatriot Laslo Djere.

Djokovic had to dig deep as he showed tremendous resilience in his come-from-behind victory. Djokovic lost the opening set and was down a break of serve in the second set, but bounced back to win the marathon battle in three sets. World No.1 prevailed 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in three hours and 21 minutes in Belgrade.

In awe of the titanic clash between Djokovic and Djere, Chris Evert Twitted, “Still mesmerized by this match!!!!!!!

Can Novak Djokovic win the Serbia Open?

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via Reuters

Following a sensational victory in his tournament opener, Djokovic will lock horns against another Serb, Miomir Kecmanović in the quarterfinals at the Serbia Open on Thursday. Despite his victory against Djere, Djokovic is still far away from his best and should be hopeful to gather steam with each passing tournament in the lead-up to the French Open, where he is the defending champion.

Interestingly, Djokovic defeated Kecmanović 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinal in Belgrade last year in their only meeting so far on the ATP tour. Can Djokovic, raising his level, produce a similar result to stay in the hunt to win the title in Belgrade?

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It will be intriguing to witness how Djokovic fares in his upcoming quarterfinal against Kecmanović.