Pushed to the Limit

Djokovic looked done in the second set...

However, he was the one who was able to push a bit extra in the third set and win it! As predicted, Djokovic played very aggressively the entire match; his forehand was huge, his serving was solid, and the net play was good as well! So I think we have to give big credit to Munar for playing really well, especially with some clutch first serves in some key moments. However, there are some questions about his upcoming match against Bergs. How well can he recover at 38 years old (one day extra will help a bit), and will the left calf be an issue? Bergs himself has been fighting hard lately, saving match points and winning in a third-set tiebreak against Diallo. Something to keep an eye on is that Bergs also had an MTO for a left hamstring issue in his previous match against Cerundolo; however, it did not seem to affect him in the match against Diallo.

It's going to be interesting to see if Djokovic chooses to lessen the aggression a bit in this match and go more for a lockdown counter-punching style that could let the Belgian hit himself out of the match. This would make sense, since Bergs doesn't mind the pace and rhythm he would get from a Djokovic going all-out on his forehand again. Instead, when Bergs has to hit extra shots, he can become quite erratic, especially in such a big moment like this. While Bergs has a 2-14 record against top 20 players, he tends to make them at least somewhat competitive. I mentioned it earlier in another preview, but have a look at his opponents since the USO: Thompson, ADM, Shang, Tabilo, Alcaraz, Korda, Ruud, Cerundolo, Diallo. He has not had a single easy match! What worries me slightly for Djokovic is the fact that he has now played three matches here... against Cilic, Hanfmann, and Munar - and all three of them have been challenging! In these tough conditions, it becomes hard for Djokovic to dominate; he is unable to play every return game to 100%, instead selecting moments where he has to give it his all and other moments when he instead will concede/bail out on points, so he can preserve some energy...