New York [US], September 1 : Serbia's tennis maestro Novak Djokovic directed a clean and swift performance to show Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff the exit route and set up a quarter-final showdown with number four seed and home favourite Taylor Fritz at the US Open.
The 38-year-old Djokovic became the oldest man in history to qualify for all four major singles quarter-finals in one season, following his 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the German in a contest that lasted for an hour and 49 minutes. He also joined Pancho Gonzalez, Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors to become the fourth-oldest to advance to the US Open quarter-finals.
After enduring a thorny start to the tournament where Djokovic battled fitness concerns and tricky on-court tests at Flushing Meadows, the 24-time major champion rediscovered the purple patch by exuding dominance over Struff. With his sublime strokeplay, he conquered the German to confirm his 14th quarter-final appearance at the US Open and celebrated his win by using his racquet as a violin and playing it on the court.
"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 said of playing another evening session inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, as quoted from ATP.com.
Even though the scoreboard suggests the tune came easily for Djokovic, the overall on-field battle suggested a different narrative. He received multiple visits from ATP physiotherapist Clay Snitema throughout the fixture. After the first set, Sniteman was seen working on the area between Djokovic's right shoulder and neck. After the second set, the physiotherapist massaged the four-time US Open champion's right forearm.
Despite everything that bothered Djokovic, he didn't let it bother him when he unleashed his lethal forehand. He broke serve six times and operated efficiently in all facets of his game. He inflicted enough pressure on Struff, who came in with plenty of momentum on his side, by using his serve and executing 12 aces.
"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 out-served 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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