Novak Djokovic will take on his compatriot Laslo Djere in the third round of the US Open today, Thursday, September 1st.

23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic has been progressing steadily through the last major of the year at Flushing Meadows as he attempts to reach his 4th US Open title.

So far, the second seed has had little trouble dispatching his opponents, defeating Alexandre Muller 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round before winning against Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.

Djere will be the first of the seeded players that he has come up against in the draw. The 28-year-old moved past home player Brandon Nakashima in his first round, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, before taking out Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the second round with a commanding victory of 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

Djere could challenge Djokovic but it will be difficult to defeat him. The two Serbian players have only faced each other once before - in their home country at the 2022 Belgrade Open. Djokovic won the match in straight sets, but Djere managed to push two of the sets to a tiebreak, showing that he's capable of pushing the 36-year-old even if it is not enough to win against him.  

Their last and only meeting was on clay, meaning this will be their first clash on the hard courts, so it will be interesting to see if that changes how they decide to play against each other.

Both men like to play from the baseline, with Djere being more of a counterpuncher, which may not help him against one of the most experienced players in the world who has multiple major titles across each surface.

In comparison, Djere has won 13 matches at majors in his career so far, meaning it is likely that Djokovic will win this round, potentially in straight sets.