Djokovic Advances to US Open Quarterfinals Despite Neck Discomfort
Novak Djokovic, exhibited his dominance on the US Open court, defeating Jan-Lennard Struff with scores of 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to secure his place in the quarterfinals. Despite physical discomfort, Djokovic demonstrated his tenacity and talent. Djokovic, who experienced neck discomfort during the match, managed to defeat Struff, ranked 144th, and extended his record to 64 quarter-finals in Grand Slam tournaments.This achievement marks the ninth time Djokovic has reached the quarterfinals in all Grand Slam tournaments in a year, surpassing Roger Federer in this statistic.
At 38 years old, Djokovic becomes the oldest player to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Jimmy Connors in 1991. In addition, he is the oldest semifinalist in any Grand Slam since Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2021. Although Djokovic was visibly affected by the physical discomfort, this did not prevent him from maintaining control of the game against Struff, who had previously defeated Frances Tiafoe. With this victory, Djokovic extends his record to 8-0 against Struff and prepares to face Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, with a 10-0 record in head-to-head matches. Taylor Fritz, seeded number 4 and the last American in the tournament, advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Tomas Machac with a score of 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. During the match against Struff, Djokovic received medical assistance to treat neck and shoulder discomfort. Despite this, his performance was not significantly affected. Djokovic has also received medical treatment in previous rounds of the tournament, including foot and lower back problems. Djokovic has won four championships in New York, the most recent in 2023.
