He had a second round walkover, before only playing six games in the third round as Mikhail Youzhny was forced to retire.
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Edmund looked thoroughly out-classed until he managed to put together a run of three straight games in the third set that included two breaks of Djokovic’s serve.
Ahead 2-0 in the last set, Djokovic got broken, starting a stretch of three games in a row for the 84th-ranked Edmund.
Djokovic said he doesn’t have pain in the elbow.
Novak Djokovic reached the US Open last 16 in just 32 minutes Friday when Mikhail Youzhny retired injured before fellow two-time victor Rafael Nadal also made the fourth round for the first time in three years.
“From the other side, sure, as you are approaching (the) second week of the Grand Slams”, he continued, “you want to have match play and you want to have time spent on the center court before you face one of the top players”.
Edmund only found his game in the third set, but his consolation for an excellent week will be a rise to just outside the top 50 of the world rankings.
A well-rested Djokovic, who has enjoyed the benefit of two withdrawals and nearly five days’ rest, will be a different proposition for Edmund, who will consult with Andy Murray ahead of facing the 12-times major champion. Nadal, if he gets his A game going, should reach the quarterfinals.
The bottom half of the women’s last 16 will be played out with second seeded Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber facing two-time Wimbledon victor Petra Kvitova.
Djokovic beat Edmund in straight sets despite an elbow complaint.
All the questions Djokovic faced coming into the tournament, into this match – the “personal” problems that contributed to his early Wimbledon exit; his first-round defeat in Rio; withdrawing from Cincinnati; the wrist and arm injuries he struggled with in his unconvincing first-round win against Jerzy Janowicz; the lack of time on court here – were all being emphatically answered.
In a heartbreaking moment at the US Open 2016, Rafael Nadal was knocked out in his fourth-round match against Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
Lacoste – yes, he of the post-tennis clothing company – won the 1927 title.
Britain’s Kyle Edmund set up a US Open showdown with Novak Djokovic by beating John Isner to reach the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time.
Djokovic can not seem able to get a match lately. Keys, a 21-year-old American, has among the most powerful serves and forehands in women’s tennis today.
Jo Konta’s run at the US Open came to an end at exactly the same stage as a year ago: the fourth round.
This season, he lost in the first round of the Australian Open.
When it ended, Pouille dropped on his back, his tongue sticking out.
Djokovic will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga next in the quarter-finals after the ninth seed defeated 26th seed Jack Sock 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-2.
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The world number 84 had never been beyond round two of a Grand Slam until he arrived in New York City and he prolonged his stay in the tournament by overcoming the big-serving American 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6.
