Second seed Novak Djokovic achieved a significant landmark on Sunday night tying two former champions for second-most quarterfinal appearances at US Open.
Djokovic defeated Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo in straight sets, recovering spectacularly from his late-night escape against fellow Serbian Laslo Djere, where he fought back from two sets to love down. It's already been a rollercoaster moment for the Serbian star, who is playing in New York for the first time in two years.
Sunday's win over Gojo eased Djokovic into his 57th Grand Slam quarterfinal (the second-most behind Roger Federer with 58). And most importantly he tied Federer and Andre Agassi for the second-most US Open quarterfinals with 13, behind American Jimmy Connors.
Djokovic who has already reclaimed the No. 1 ranking from Carlos Alcaraz at this tournament, also owns the most night match wins in US Open history with 37 and he could extend that number if his last eight showdown against top-10 seed Taylor Fritz is scheduled at primetime inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Since his last defeat to Sam Querrey at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic has forged a 29-match winning streak against American players, with 13 being on a Grand Slam stage. He is also 7-0 against Taylor Fritz in the head-to-head, winning all but one match in straight sets.
Speaking ahead of the match, Djokovic is conversant with Fritz's game but is aware of the improvement he has made especially on all three surfaces this season.
"We know each other's game pretty well. I've played him quite a few times actually in the last couple years. Yeah, big game. Serve and forehand are two biggest weapons, no doubt. But he has improved so much. He's also playing very well on clay, which maybe wasn't the case first years of his professional career."
"He's working hard. He's got a great coach in his corner. I'm sure he's going to be very pumped and motivated to win. It's going to be great atmosphere on the stadium and let's see what happens."
0 Comments