“When Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired trailing Novak Djokovic in Tuesday’s US Open quarterfinals 6-3 6-2, it marked the third time during the tournament that the world No. 1 benefited from a walkover or retirement”.
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Controlled and measured are words usually not associated with the dynamic Monfils, who has not lost a set in five matches here and is 19-2 on hard courts since Wimbledon.
That retirement confirmed another semi-final place at a Grand Slam for Djokovic, who will now face 10th seed Gael Monfils in the final four – after his earlier straight sets win over Lucas Pouille, conqueror of Rafa Nadal in the fourth round.
“I’m in the semifinals, so that’s what matters for me the most”, Djokovic told reporters after 83 minutes in the Arthur Ashe Stadium. “This is something I’m sure he didn’t wish for”.
Monfils, on top of his game with a straight-sets run to the semi-finals, will need to be at his peak to reach the final as he is still seeking his first victory against Djokovic after 12 losses.
But the player Djokovic was supposed to face in the second round, Jiri Vesely, pulled out of the U.S. Open a couple of hours before the match, citing a bad left arm.
Speaking on court after his win, Djokovic who is through to his 10th consecutive semi-final in NY said, “I have to say it again, I really wish Jo a quick recovery”.
Djokovic is 24-10 all-time against Murray, having won five of the last six.
In the quarterfinals, Djokovic noticed Tsonga’s service speed dropping as the match went along. Monfils has yet to beat Djokovic in 12 career meetings.
“I always believe in myself, no matter what my ranking”, Wozniacki – who has slipped to 74th in the world – subsequently said, according to the BBC.
Wozniacki’s last trip to the semifinals of a major came in 2014, when she lost the U.S. Open final to her good friend Serena Williams.
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Wozniacki of Denmark blasted past Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-0 6-2 in her 2016 US Open quarterfinal match.
Ninth-seeded Tsonga gave him more of a workout, but even before an apparent left knee injury began to trouble the Frenchman in the second set Djokovic had the match well in hand.
But after being two points from taking the first set against Kerber while serving for it at 5-4, 30-all, the No. 7-seeded Vinci faltered badly.
Whilst one game down in the second set, a deep shot from Pouille set Monfils up for a trick shot, as he attempted to return the ball by hitting it through his legs. A serve out wide from the world number 11 brought the game to deuce as he saved the break point.
The former fiancé of Rory McIlroy however, empathised for the injury suffered by the Latvian.
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Kerber proved too powerful for Italian Roberta Vinci 7-5 6-0 to reach the last four. But she eliminated 2004 champion Svetlanta Kuznetsova in the second round and No. 8 Madison Keys in the fourth.
