Tennis – ATP Banja Luka – Novak Djokovic stops Luca Van Assche in three sets

He won’t have to blush. A mountain stood in front of him and Luca Van Assche was not so far from climbing it on Wednesday. Faced with world number 1 Novak Djokovic, who is more supported by an audience won over to his cause in Banja Luka, the young Frenchman has done much more than figuration. He even allowed himself to take a set from the Serb, the first, before dropping the flag with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 in 2h39 of play. Still lacking in sensations, the “Djoker” will face his compatriot Dusan Lajovic or Grégoire Barrère in the quarter-finals.

Facing a legend of the game for the first time is not trivial, especially when you are not yet 19 years old. And Luca Van Assche could have been overwhelmed by his emotions or by the aura of his opponent. On Wednesday, however, nothing happened. So much so that he forced Novak Djokovic to take out the blue heater to get by. In one match, the young Blue has undoubtedly learned a lot and learned some lessons for the future.

Van Assche showed a lot of character

Not intimidated therefore, Van Assche focused on taking care of his service games at first. And then, little by little, realizing that he was competing from the baseline, he gained confidence until he made the first break at 5-4. He could have fallen in stride after conceding an immediate break when serving for the set. But the new member of the Top 100 showed he had character by saving three set points on his serve at 5-6, before going for the tie-break after more than an hour of play.

Mentally, Van Assche has shown qualities as a fighter that can only serve him to climb the ladder. But in pulling off this first act, he also took advantage of a somewhat rusty Novak Djokovic, in line with what he had shown last week in Monte-Carlo. In front of his family, the world number 1 has gradually found the resources to turn the tide, being more patient in the exchange to delight the opposing commitment (6-7, 3-1). Despite playing conditions that he didn’t like – “perhaps the slowest of my career”, he confided after his victory – he got better and better at restarting, playing longer and constantly taking the initiative to revive (6-7, 6-3).

Increasingly dominated, Van Assche however never left his match. He even took advantage of a new release from his opponents to break the start of the third set with a nice winning crossover on a cushioning. But it was the swan song, Djokovic quickly regaining the upper hand in stride. Jostled, the world number 1 let out a few cries of relief as he broke away (6-7, 6-3, 4-1), haranguing the crowd. In this fight against a promising young Frenchman but above all against himself, the world number 1 may have found the keys to gaining power on clay.