Novak Djokovic has confirmed his role as a favorite at the dress rehearsal for the US Open next week. The world number one reached the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 tournament in New York on Tuesday with a 6: 2, 6: 4 win over the American Tennys Sandgren without losing a set. The Canadian Milos Raonic stopped the run of ex-number one Andy Murray with a smooth 6: 2, 6: 2.
Raonic meets Dominic Thiem’s conqueror, the Serb Filip Krajinovic, in the quarter-finals. The latter let the Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics flash off with the same result as Thiem the day before. At 6: 2, 6: 1, Djokovic’s 28-year-old compatriot needed just over an hour again.
For Djokovic, who celebrated a five-set win over Thiem in the final of this year’s Australian Open, things are going well with regard to the US Open that starts on Monday. “All in all it was a great performance,” said the happy “Djoker”. He felt better than the night before. “Everything is going in the right direction,” said the 17-time Grand Slam winner.
Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also doing well for the major tournament. Both reached the round of the last eight with two-set wins over Aljaz Bedene and John Isner.
Williams: Like a bad date
For women, however, superstar Serena Williams has suffered a major setback. The 38-year-old American, who finally wants to equalize Margaret Court’s major record with the 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open, surprisingly lost to Greek Maria Sakkari 7: 5, 6: 7, 1: 6th Williams only two points separated from victory at 5: 3 in the second set, then they gave up the match.
“I should have won, there is no excuse for that,” she said. Before that, she had received a time warning and also threw the bat into the empty stands due to the corona crisis.
Williams even compared their match to a bad date. “It’s like dating a man you know sucks. It’s like getting rid of this guy. That’s literally what I’m doing out there.” In addition, the US-American, who will become 39 in September, complained of cramps towards the end. It is questionable whether she is currently fit enough to win another major title despite the many rejections.
From an Austrian perspective, part one of the two New York tournaments did not go as planned. After Thiem’s kick-off, the double specialists Oliver Marach with Raven Klaasen and Jürgen Melzer with Edouard Roger-Vasselin were eliminated in the second round.
The draw for the second act in Flushing Meadows, the US Open, which is worth $ 53.4 million, will take place on Thursday (6 p.m. CEST). (apa)
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