NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic was cruising together with a giant early lead in his U.S. Open fourth-round match on Sunday night time when his neck began bothering him. That did not cease Djokovic from dominating 144th-ranked qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to achieve his report sixty fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal.
“What offers me lots of encouragement proper now, and positivity, is the way in which I performed tonight,” Djokovic stated. “Finest efficiency of the match to this point. Hopefully I can hold that going.”
Djokovic was forward 4-0, 15-love when he hit a properly angled volley winner to go up 30-love in that sport. The 24-time Grand Slam champion instantly grabbed in the back of his neck and began turning his head.
The 38-year-old Djokovic saved making an attempt to stretch his neck or flex his proper shoulder between factors, and he went on to drop that sport and the following one, too. However he quickly regained the higher hand in opposition to Struff, who beat Frances Tiafoe within the earlier spherical and was making an attempt to get to a serious quarterfinal for the primary time.
After bettering to 8-0 in opposition to Struff, Djokovic now carries a 10-0 head-to-head report into his quarterfinal on Tuesday in opposition to 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz.
“I count on gamers that by no means received in opposition to me to come back out on the court docket and check out one thing completely different and attempt to make me really feel possibly uncomfortable and play extra aggressive, or not, no matter,” Djokovic stated. “I don’t suppose there’s going to be any main adjustments with Taylor, as a result of, clearly, you stick with the form of a sport plan that acquired you to the quarters, and what your strengths are … which for him clearly is serve and forehand.”
The No. 4-seeded Fritz, the final American man within the bracket, moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory Sunday in opposition to No. 21 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.
“The factor is, I feel it’s spanned over so a few years. The primary nearly seven or eight occasions I performed him, I in all probability simply wasn’t a adequate participant to actually have that a lot of an opportunity until I’ve one of the best day ever and he has a foul day,” Fritz stated. “Solely the final couple occasions we’ve performed, I feel, I’ve been this simply higher participant that may, I’d say, compete and have probabilities.”
After Djokovic completed off that opening set in opposition to Struff, he was visited by a coach for therapy in the course of the ensuing changeover. Djokovic was given a therapeutic massage to his neck and shoulder.
If he was nonetheless in discomfort, his play wasn’t actually affected in any respect. Throughout the break after that set, Djokovic had his proper forearm massaged. However once more, there have been no indicators of hassle when the ball was in play.
Djokovic had trainers work on him earlier within the match, too, together with for blisters on a foot within the first spherical and for a lower-back subject within the third.
He is received 4 championships in New York, most not too long ago in 2023.
