US Open 2023: Novak Djokovic reveals the key to success against big-hitting qualifier Borna Gojo

Novak Djokovic quelled any chance of repeating an arduous US Open five-setter on Sunday by triumphing over.

Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo with a scoreline of 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. The victory secures the Serbian star a place in his 57th Grand Slam quarter-final.

Following a hard-fought comeback from two sets down in a match with fellow Serbian Laslo Djere, Djokovic expertly counteracted Gojo’s baseline offensive. He has now moved on to his 13th US Open quarter-final in 17 appearances.

“I knew that Borna had a big game, even though we hadn’t faced each other at the tour level,” Djokovic said after the match. “I was watching him play qualifying and also the last couple of rounds of the main draw and I saw that he has big weapons with his serve and forehand and that he moves pretty well for a big guy. One of the keys to the match was to neutralise his serve, try to reduce the number of aces and winners from that shot.”

Despite Gojo’s formidable 6’5” stature and aggressive playing style, which saw him earn an early break in the second set, his high-risk strategy fell short. A whopping count of 40 unforced errors, including 15 in the first set alone, drastically undermined his performance.

Gojo’s match play was erratic at best, as illustrated notably in the third game of the second set, where he lost his serve due to consecutive double faults, thus failing to consolidate his first break of serve at 2-0. His 40 winners were matched by an equal number of unforced errors, more than tripling Djokovic’s 12.

For Djokovic, the master plan centred around destabilizing Gojo, making it arduous for him to take his typically powerful swings at the ball. Now striving towards his fourth US Open title and 10th final appearance in Flushing Meadows, Djokovic moves on to confront top-ranked American, Taylor Fritz, in their forthcoming ATP Head-to-Head series.

“Taylor has been an established Top 10 player for the past couple of years and he’s been playing some terrific tennis, particularly on home soil in hard-court tournaments here in the States,” Djokovic said. “He’s improved so much over the years. Obviously the matches will only get tougher from here onwards, and I’m ready for the challenge.”