By Larry Fine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Serbia's Novak Djokovic caught his second wind in the nick of time to overcome Davis Cup team mate Viktor Troicki 6-3 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-3 in the first round on a brutally hot day at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
Djokovic, who has struggled in the heat in the past, looked beaten after trailing 3-1 in the fourth set but the third seed came roaring back to avoid his first opening-round loss in a grand slam since the 2006 Australian Open.
The former Australian Open champion and U.S. Open runner-up broke the big-serving Troicki, ranked 47th, in the sixth game to put the set back on serve and again in the 12th to force a fifth set which he won with relative ease.
The victory lifted Djokovic to a second-round match against Philipp Petzschner of Germany, who beat Dusan Lojda of the Czech Republic to advance.
(Reporting by Larry Fine; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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