US Open: Novak Djokovic recovers after early stumble against Zachary Svajda to reach third round

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In a rare day outing at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Novak Djokoivc was a bit slow to get going on Wednesday afternoon.

But after dropping the opening set, Djokovic rolled to a dominant 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over American qualifier Zachary Svajda to make it into the third round of the US Open. Djokovic is now a perfect 36-0 in the first two rounds of the grand slam. He beat American Learner Tien in straight sets in the opening round.

The win also broke a tie between Djokovic and Roger Federer, as it sent Djokovic into the third round of a grand slam for the 75th time in his career. That’s the most in the history of the sport.

Svajda, who entered the tournament ranked No. 145 in the world, jumped up early and snuck past Djokovic in a tiebreak in the opening set.

After that, though, Djokovic turned it on. He quickly leveled the match and then rolled through the next two sets to close it out in four. Djokovic won three of the last four games in the final set, too, two of which he swept. Djokovic is now 54-45 in matches at major championships after dropping the first set, which is the most by any man in the Open era, per The Associated Press.

"I'm just trying to be locked in. Just trying to solve the riddle once I'm on the court," Djokovic said, via The Associated Press. "It's not like I'm not finding joy on the court competing. I enjoy competing, but I don't enjoy not playing well. That's why I put extra pressure on myself and my team to be better the next day, the next match."

Djokovic will now advance to take on Cam Norrie in the third round. Djokovic is a perfect 6-0 all-time against Norrie, who beat Argentina’s Francisco Comesana in his second-round match on Wednesday.