They say talking to yourself is the first sign of madness but it's clearly working for Novak Djokovic. The Serb maintained his bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title but had to battle back from two sets down to beat compatriot Laslo Djere.
The three-time US Open champion recovered from dropping the first two sets 4-6 4-6 to break his opponent’s serve in the first game of the third, and that gave him the platform to clean up 6-1 6-1 6-3 to progress to the fourth round in five sets.
It was the eighth time in his career that Djokovic, who is aiming to match Australian Margaret Court’s tally of major wins, had successfully recovered from 2-0 down.
He took a break after losing the second set for some self motivation. He said: “I did a pep talk in the mirror. It worked. “I laughed at myself because I was so agitated and annoyed with the game.