in a candid reflection after his second round victory at the 2024 US Open Novak jokovic described his serving performance as awful the Serbian star currently ranked world number two faced fellow Countryman llo jir in a late night match that ended with jir retiring due to injury giving jokovic a 6 to4 6-4 2 to Zer win jokovic a 24 time major Champion struggled with his serve Landing just 47% of his first serves despite winning 79% of points when his first serve was in play he managed only 49% on second surf points and committed eight double faults these issues echoed his struggles in the first round against Radu Albert where he also hit 10 double faults speaking with Nick curios in an onc Court interview jokovic didn't shy away from criticizing his own performance I served awful he admitted acknowledging the physical toll it took on him to grind out points jokovic emphasized the importance of his Baseline game particularly when his serve is not up to par in the post-match press conference jokovic explained how his serving woes made the match more grueling especially against a player like jir who is strong from both the forehand and backhand sides he noted that the physical battle in the first two sets likely contributed to jer's unfortunate retirement despite these struggles jokovic remains optimistic he expressed confidence that he would find his rhythm as he has many times throughout his illustrious career however the tennis Legend did face some discomfort during the match receiving treatment for an abdominal issue between the first and second sets looking ahead jokovic will face Montreal Masters winner alexe poin in the third round knowing that the challenges will only get tougher from here nonetheless the Serbian Superstar remain remain s determined to navigate through the tournament and continue his quest for another grand slam title