An out-of-sorts Novak Djokovic scraped his way to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over American wild card Jenson Brooksby on Monday to move into the US Open quarter finals and three wins from tennis immortality.
Chasing a 21st major that would seal a calendar year Grand Slam, Djokovic had difficulty getting into gear against the 99th ranked Brooksby, who for a moment looked capable of derailing the Serb.
For the second consecutive match the world No. 1 came out flat and dropped the opening set, something he will not want to do in his quarter final when he faces Italian Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of the Wimbledon final which he won in four.
Berrettini overcame a second-set wobble to beat German qualifier Oscar Otte 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The sixth seeded Italian will mark a big step up in quality for Djokovic, who has not faced anyone ranked inside the top 50, including a qualifier and a wildcard.
“He (Berrettini) loves the big stage,” said Djokovic. “He’s already an established top 10, top five player in the world.
“Big serve, just the big game overall. I’ve played him quite a few times on different surfaces, I know what to expect.
“We’re going to play the third Grand Slam in a row against each other. Hopefully the result will be the same like the previous two.”
The match got off to an extraordinary start as Brooksby took the first set with shocking ease.
Playing for the first time on Arthur Ashe Stadium against one of the all-time greats, Brooksby was unfazed while three-time champion Djokovic sprayed shots helter-skelter, committing 11 unforced errors to just one by the young American.
“I must say that wasn’t a great start for me, obviously,” said Djokovic. “It’s different stepping out on the court first time against someone that really has nothing to lose. He’s a young, talented player that is very crafty. He’s got the really all-around game. He was pumped.”
Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev was the first to enter the semi-finals on Tuesday, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5.
Sakkari prevails
Bianca Andreescu saw her US Open winning streak snapped by Maria Sakkari in a brutal three-and-a-half hour encounter on Monday but while the 2019 champion rued her failure to sew up the match she was satisfied she left everything on the court.
The fourth-round contest at the Arthur Ashe Stadium captivated the crowd in New York until 2:13am when the Greek sealed the 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-3 victory. Andreescu, who won the 2019 title in her first main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows but missed last year’s event due to injury, said she knew she would have to battle.
