Djokovic moves to third round as Djere retires

NEW YORK  – Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as Laslo Djere retired in the third set, but said he’ll have to do better to win a fifth title on the hard courts of New York.

Djokovic was up 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 when Djere pulled the plug on a gritty encounter that saw both men summon the physio to Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“It’s not what we want to see,” Djokovic said. “He’s such a good player in these conditions and the second set should have been his, he was 4-2 up.

“I don’t know if (my) winning the second set probably put more burden on him.”

Djokovic notched his 90th US Open match victory, becoming the first man to win 90 at all four Grand Slams.

Women’s defending champion Coco Gauff overcame her own struggles on serve to beat 37-year-old Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-0.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, runner-up to Gauff last year, didn’t have to take advantage, polishing off Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 6-1 in an hour.

But eighth-seeded Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova became the biggest upset victim of the tournament so far, bounced 6-4, 7-5 by Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 victory over France’s Alexandre Muller.