Zachary Svajda wins early battle with Novak Djokovic, but not the war

“This first set, as crazy as it sounds,” said John Isner on ESPN, seated courtside in Arthur Ashe Stadium, “might be more important to Novak, than to Zach.”

“Not crazy,” replied Cliff Drysdale.

Isner, who played Novak Djokovic 12 times in his career (and beat him twice on an outdoor hard court), and Drysdale, who has watched the Serbian play countless times, had a feeling something was amiss. And while it didn’t materialize into the upset they were perhaps considering, the exchange validated Svajda’s early threat to the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Avoiding what would have been this US Open’s first shocking result—and his first loss in 18 second-round matches at Flushing Meadows—the 24-time Grand Slam champion overcame the 145^th-ranked American, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.

The signs Isner and Drysdale noticed were uncharacteristic lapses from Djokovic, even at 38. Taken to a tiebreaker by the 22-year-old with 100 fewer titles than Djokovic—read another way, zero—the returner extraordinaire failed to handle a 76 MPH second serve. He then engaged Svajda in a 28-shot rally, another bread-and-butter scenario for Djokovic, but made a hash of it, missing a backhand. And on set point, it was Svajda, rather than Djokovic, who pulled the trigger and went for the kill shot.

“What Novak is experiencing right now,” said Isner, “is that Zach is a lot better than 145 in the world.”

Djokovic, who would turn this match this around with steadier play and a dip in Svajda’s form and fitness, is now a gaudy 76-1 when winning the first set at the US Open. But even in best-of-five competition, the paragon of health is just 15-13 when losing the opening set in Queens. It added a bit of urgency to the situation for Djokovic, playing in just his second tournament since Roland Garros.

Svajda, meanwhile, has played five tournaments since Wimbledon—and had won 17 of his last 19 matches, including qualifying rounds.

“He is coming into this tournament playing well,” said Isner, “winning that big tournament in Newport.”

No one would confuse Newport’s Hall of Fame Open with Wimbledon, held simultaneously in July. But as big as The Championships in England remain for Djokovic, the smaller grass-court showcase in New England was for Svajda.

“The level’s been extremely high for a number of years now,” said Chris Eubanks, who played this year’s Hall of Fame Open, about the quality of competition on the ATP Challenger Tour. “The guys in Challengers are making the transition to the tour pretty quickly. It just goes to show the level of play that’s here.”

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The San Diego native won five matches in Newport, including over top seed Brandon Holt, fifth seed Eliot Spizzirri and, in the final, fourth seed Adrian Mannarino (who traveled to Newport just four days after losing in the third round at Wimbledon). A few weeks later, he won another Challenger title, on hard courts in Lexington.

“You’re going to get a lot of really good players,” said Eubanks of the Tour. “You’re going to get some players on the rise, some players who’ve been Top 100. For a number of years now, I think we’ve seen the Challenger level consistently get better and better.”

When Djokovic leveled today’s match with a 6-3 second-set win, Svajda’s chances might have been dismissed. But he took a 3-1 lead in the third, and the attention was back on.

That’s also right around the time the American began feeling it, physically.

“I have the sense that Svajda is really hurting, in terms of his fitness,” said Drysdale. Inauspiciously, Svajda has played just one five-set match in his short career.

“I think this has a lot more to do with nerves,” said James Blake, also on commentary. “It’s just a different animal, playing Novak Djokovic on Arthur Ashe Stadium.”

Svajda’s effectiveness continued to plummet—not even pickle juice would help. And he wouldn’t get an opportunity to play another five-setter, not even close.

“Guys, can I take back my comment about the first set being more important to Novak?” asked Isner as the writing was on the wall.

“You are allowed,” replied Blake.

It’s still been a summer to remember for Svajda. Djokovic, who will face either Cameron Norrie or Francisco Comesana in the third round, hopes he can say the same.