Novak Djokovic pulls out gritty win, makes fourth round at Indian Wells

After winning the first set Monday against American Aleksandar Kovacevic at the BNP Paribas Open, Novak Djokovic began visibly shaking his right arm sensing some discomfort at the start of the second set.

As he continued to shake out his right arm, on which he was already wearing a long white compression sleeve, his level of play dipped. With the miles per hour on his serve decreasing and the number of unforced errors increasing, Djokovic lost the second set to Kovacevic 6-1 and seemed on the ropes.

But Djokovic showed the mettle of a champion, regrouped and raised his level in the third set. He had enough fortitude to fend off Kovacevic and grind out the 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 win.

Surprisingly, Djokovic, who has won this event five times, advances to the fourth round of the tournament in Indian Wells for the first time since 2017. He will face either defending champion Jack Draper or Francisco Cerundolo.

Kovacevic, the 27-year-old American ranked No. 72 in the world, was playing in his first-ever Masters 1000 third round.

Remarkably, Djokovic hasn’t lost a match to an American player in any Masters 1000 event since 2013 when he lost to John Isner in Cincinnati. He is now 21-0 against players from the U.S. since then.

Kovacevic was born in New York City but his mother is Bosnian and his father is from Serbia. It’s no surprise that he has been a fan of Djokovic’s and even sites a match between Djokovic and Gael Monfils at the 2005 U.S. Open as the moment he decided he wanted to play tennis.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Novak Djokovic pulls out gritty win, makes fourth round at Indian Wells