With a clean and quick performance, Serbian tennis master Novak Djokovic showed Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff the way out and set up a quarterfinal matchup with Taylor Fritz, the number four seed and home favorite at the US Open.
After defeating the German 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and forty-nine minutes, the 38-year-old Djokovic became the oldest man in history to advance to all four major singles quarterfinals in a single season. In addition, he became the fourth-oldest player to reach the US Open quarterfinals, joining Pancho Gonzalez, Ken Rosewall, and Jimmy Connors.
Following a difficult beginning to the tournament, during which Djokovic struggled with fitness issues and challenging on-court assessments at Flushing Meadows, the 24-time major champion regained his purple patch by dominating Struff. He defeated the German with amazing strokeplay to secure his 14th US Open quarterfinal appearance. He celebrated his victory by playing his racquet on the court like a violin.
“I don’t know how many more I’m going to have, so obviously each one is very special and I want to thank all you guys for being present here tonight,” Djokovic stated of playing another evening session inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, as quoted from ATP.com.
The entire on-field struggle showed a different story, despite the scoreboard suggesting that Djokovic had no trouble with the melody. ATP physiotherapist Clay Snitema visited him several times throughout the match. Sniteman was shown working on the region between Djokovic’s right shoulder and neck following the opening set. The four-time US Open champion’s right forearm was massaged by the physiotherapist following the second set.
Djokovic was upset about everything, but he didn’t let that stop him from using his deadly forehand. He was effective in all aspect of his game and broke serve six times. By using his serve and hitting 12 aces, he put enough pressure on Struff, who entered the game with a lot of momentum.
“It definitely helps if you serve well. I think I had a great serving performance in the last round and also tonight. I just saw the stats, I outserved one of the guys that had the most aces during the tournament this year, so that’s a great stat. Obviously, that helps make my life easier on the court. Maybe I don’t need to work as hard or unnecessarily more than I have to,” Djokovic added.
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