Djokovic is not the only favorite in the recent U.S.
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The night session drew a record 25,006. If Nadal continues to play well, he can once again get nearer to his rivals Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer in the rankings.
Sure enough, Youzhny returned to the court for one more game but decided it wasn’t worth trying to play the rest of the match.
A wrist injury forced the Spaniard into an early retirement at the French Open and sidelined him from Wimbledon before a gold medal run in the doubles at the Olympics helped ease his misery.
Closing in on victory against Kuznetsov, Nadal raced toward the baseline and, his back to the net, flicked a lob through his legs, eventually taking that point.
Afterward, Nadal screamed, punched the air and spread his arms wide, pumping his fists.
“Obviously, I wish Mischa a speedy recovery”, Djokovic said in an on-court interview in Ashe.
Youzhny had put up a good fight through the 2016 U.S. Open as well, taking out his last component like it was nothing.
On Sunday, maybe he’ll finally get a chance to test how he feels. Under the current rules, time violations are handed out at a chair umpire’s discretion. Mostly when I’m training, days off, or when I’m here the day of my match, tennis is everywhere, on each TV.
Kyle Edmund, a 21-year-old Brit, upset 20th-seeded Isner, posting a four-set victory on Armstrong Stadium 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) to set up a meeting with Djokovic.
He will play 10th-seeded Gael Monfils, who beat Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Raonic dealt with several cramps throughout the match, but a win is a win for Harrison, who is now through to the third round of a major tournament for the first time in 20 attempts.
Isner improved to 9-0 in US Open second-round matches. Edmund has not dropped a set in posting the biggest win of his career Monday when he ousted world number 15 Richard Gasquet in opening round action.
He went on to break for 4-2 and survived two break points when serving for the set, reeling off four straight points to take it when Janowicz pushed long. “You can feel that kind of vibe”. Then he hit return after return of serves from a practice partner. For the first time ever, the Open hit the 40,000 mark.
Novak Djokovic is a mainstay in the late rounds of the U.S. Open, but the world’s top-ranked player has never has a path as easy as this year.
World number one and reigning champion Djokovic was given a walkover against Jiri Vesely in the second round after the Czech withdrew due to pain in his forearm, and a similar situation resulted in his progression to the last 16.
Djokovic was leading 4-2 when Youzhny’s hamstrings eventually gave way, but the Russian had nearly been forced to quit earlier after persevering through an intense medical time-out.
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Djokovic was only on court for 31 minutes at Flushing Meadows, while Nadal was a straight-sets victor over Andrey Kuznetsov.
