Novak Djokovic has made it that far at the U.S. Open by playing only two, because three opponents pulled out of the tournament with injuries.
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Novak Djokovic’s odd US Open took another freaky turn as he advanced to the semifinals here Tuesday when Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired at the start of the third set, trailing 6-3, 6-2.
Djokovic will now face another Frenchman in 10th seed Gael Monfils, who beat countryman Lucas Pouille 6-4 6-3 6-3 in his quarterfinal match.
“I can only wish all of my opponents a speedy recovery”, Djokovic said after another injury struck down his latest opponent.
“I got a lot of days off and recovered my body”, he said. I think he doesn t need many matches to feel his best tennis.
“I put myself in a position again to be one match away from the finals”.
“It’s a court I love”, he told the crowd during an on-court interview.
“I m winning more, you know, more matches”, Monfils said.
When the draw first came out, Djokovic faced the prospect of having to beat three former Open champions to win the title: 2014 champ Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals, two-time victor Rafael Nadal in the semis and 2012 champion Andy Murray in the finals.
“Admittedly he (Djokovic) is one of the greatest players, the game has seen”, stated Monfils.
“I’m happy with my performance”, Monfils said. “It’s something I had already in the past”, he said.
“If I do a trick shot, one, and still kill it, you will say I’m a showman”. It’s very hard to remember a match where he wasn’t hitting the ball clean, maybe one or two a year.
Swiss third seed Wawrinka, playing in his third semi-final in four years, ended Juan Martin del Potro’s magical run in four sets in the early hours of Thursday morning with a 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Chan and Nenad Zimonjic battled back from a set down to oust second seeds Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Bruno Soares of Brazil 1-6, 6-3, 13-11 in 73 minutes in their quarter-final on the Grandstand Court at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Williams has won seven of their last eight meetings.
Indeed Djokovic – bidding to claim three majors in a year for the second straight season – wasn’t concerned about rust being a factor if he had to play a fourth or fifth set in the semis or potentially, the final.
Second seed German Angelique Kerber booked her place in the US Open semi-finals after defeating seventh seed Italian opponent Robert Vinca in her quarterfinals encounter.
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In the other, two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki was a 6-0, 6-2 victor against Anastasija Sevastova, who injured her right ankle in the second game and was never able to get going.
