USA Today via Reuters
Sep 8, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after winning a game against Matteo Berrettini of Italy (not pictured) on day ten of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Sep 8, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after winning a game against Matteo Berrettini of Italy (not pictured) on day ten of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic faced a tough test in sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals of the US Open today. As the Wimbledon final repeated itself under the lights in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Serbian lost the first set once again to keep a trend going.
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Novak Djokovic drops first set for the ninth time in 2021
Djokovic struggled in the first set once again, as Berrettini broke his serve in the 11th game of the set. The Italian then held his serve to clinch the set 7-5, and take a confidence-boosting lead. This continued the top seed’s trend of dropping the first set in every match at this year’s US Open except his second round match against Tallon Griekspoor.
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What. A. Set 🙌@MattBerrettini leads Djokovic 7-5 after 77 minutes. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/YbCnTa8Q9y
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 9, 2021
In addition, this was also the ninth time that the Serbian dropped a set in a Grand Slam this year. While four out of those nine came at the US Open, this was also the second time he dropped the first set in a match against Berrettini.
In their Wimbledon final earlier this year, the Italian won the first set 7-6 (7-4) in a tiebreaker. Djokovic also dropped the first set against Jack Draper in their opening match in the grass court Grand Slam.
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An important stat. https://t.co/hQirB0R00l
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 9, 2021
In the French Open, the Serbian dropped the first set in the semifinal against Rafael Nadal and the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas. At the Australian Open, the Serbian dropped the first set against Alexander Zverev in their quarterfinal match.
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USA Today via Reuters
Sep 8, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic of Serbia looks to the crowd after winning a game in the first set against Matteo Berrettini of Italy on day ten of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
However, in all those occasions, Djokovic went on to win the match. In the ongoing quarterfinal, the 34-year-old bounced back in emphatic fashion to take the second set against Berrettini. Can the Serbian continue his impressive run by furthering this statistic?
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