World No 1 <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/novak-djokovic/" target="_blank">Novak Djokovic</a> had to bounce back from a set down to overcome 18-year-old Luca Van Assche at the Srpska Open on Wednesday. Djokovic, coming off an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/monte-carlo-masters-struff-djokovic-medvedev-zverev-05cf833e39a97f5c404d61cdd2b94c42">early exit at Monte Carlo</a>, was also down an early break in the decider before advancing to the quarter-finals at the clay-court tournament with a 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2 victory. The 35-year-old Serb recovered from a slow start to drop just two points on his serve in the second set. Djokovic, playing just his third match on clay this season, needed two hours, 38 minutes to put away the young Frenchman. The 22-time Grand Slam champion said the match "would probably rank as the slowest court, slowest conditions I've ever played in, to be honest. I couldn't put any ball past him”. Van Assche, who won the boys’ title at Roland Garros in 2021, is the youngest player in the Top 100. He's ranked No 87. Djokovic will next face either Dusan Lajovic or Gregoire Barrere in the last eight.