World number one Novak Djokovic continued his rich vein of form as he booked his place in the US Open’s quarter-finals with a straight-sets victory over Kyle Edmund of South Africa in the men’s singles event here on Monday.
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But he skipped the second round when Jiri Vesely handed him a walkover with an arm injury before Mikhail Youzhny lasted just six games and 32 minutes before calling it quits with a hamstring injury in Friday’s third round.
“Considering the stage of the season and the amount of matches I’ve played, and what I’ve been through with my body, I think it’s actually good to have some days off and then shorter matches”, he said.
“It’s given me a lot more belief in my game”, Edmund said.
But while Djokovic looked good for the first two sets against the 84th-ranked Edmund, and again at the very end, there was that interlude that included the medical visit.
Djokovic’s victory put him into the last eight against ninth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2 victor against American 26th seed Jack Sock.
Lucas Pouille’s upset of Rafael Nadal helped put three men from France into the quarterfinals of the American Grand Slam tournament for the first time in 89 years. “A lot of pressure, a lot of expectation, but I can always continue to learn”, she said after.
Ninth seed Tsonga, 31, breezed through the first two sets but 26th-seeded Sock forced a third-set tiebreak and fought off a match point before taking it 9-7.
“If you look back a year ago, where I was with my game, now where I’m at with my game, it’s nice to know I have improved over that year”.
The world number one will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
We’ve made huge improvements to our game-by-game betting experience, making it far easier for you to bet on individual games during a match when using your mobile. “I had some great matches against him in the past”. “I just needed a little bit of massage”.
Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, among those likely to face GB next week, made it through to his first Grand Slam quarter final since Wimbledon 2013 when his opponent Dominic Thiem retired with a knee injury when trailing 6-3 3-2.
Displaying poise beyond his years, the 22-year-old Pouille took charge early and led two sets to one.
In the tension-packed decider, the Frenchman rushed out to a 4-1 lead.
“When I was a kid, of course, I was dreaming of winning Slams and being one day No 1, and now it can happen”, said Kerber.
The pair have faced off a massive 23 times during their careers, dating all the way back to the 2008 Australian Open when Tsonga shocked the world to make the final, but couldn’t quite get the job done.
Gael Monfils, of France, falls trying to return a shot against Marcos Baghdatis, of Cyprus, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in NY. “I going to keep working to try to find”. “It was obviously a tough match”.
The 29-year-old Serbian succeeded against number 84 seed Kyle Edmund within four rounds, although the 21-year-old African-born British opponent gave successive kamikaze attacks.
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USA eighth seed Madison Keys faces two-time runner-up and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki.
