Novak Djokovic made history on Sunday night at the US Open by defeating Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. This victory secured Djokovic a place in the quarterfinals, marking his 64th Grand Slam quarter-final appearance, a record in tennis history.
Novak Djokovic maintained complete control at the start of the match. He took an early lead and won many points comfortably. During the game, the 38-year-old Novak Djokovic felt pain in his neck. He began stretching by touching his neck. He lost a few games due to the discomfort but soon regained the composure.
During the match Djokovic received a neck and shoulder massage from his physiotherapist. His right forearm was also treated after the first set. Despite this, his performance was not affected. He hit 33 winners and 12 aces. His service kept him out of trouble and applied constant pressure on his opponent.
After the match, while speaking to journalists, Djokovic expressed his satisfaction, saying that he felt encouraged and positive after playing this match, calling it his best performance in the tournament so far. He hoped to maintain this level in the upcoming rounds.
With this win his record against Jan-Lennard Struff improved to 8-0. He will now face Taylor Fritz, who defeated Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in his previous match. Additionally, Djokovic set another record by becoming the oldest male player to reach the quarter-finals in all four Grand Slams in a single year. He also surpassed Roger Federer’s previous record, which Federer had achieved eight times.
Djokovic has won the US Open four times in his career, most recently in 2023. This victory gave him his 192nd Grand Slam hard-court win, breaking Federer’s hard-court record.
After the match, Djokovic spoke about his daughter Tara, noting that the quarter-final match coincides with her birthday. He joked that, if he wins, it would be a birthday gift for her.
This is Djokovic’s first tournament at the US Open after being eliminated at Wimbledon in July. He did not participate in the Masters tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati. He appeared fatigued in the early rounds and struggled with a lower back injury in the third round. Despite these challenges, his performance against Struff was dominant.
With this win, Djokovic demonstrated that age and injuries do not hinder his game. He will now face Taylor Fritz and this upcoming match promises to be very exciting. Djokovic’s victory has further strengthened his already remarkable record.
Now all eyes are on the semi-final clash with fans praying for Djokovic win. He is to face Taylor Fritz, who is the only American to have made it so far. Americans are pinning their hope on him.
After winning the game against the German international, Novak Djokovic admitted that he is dreaming about winning his 25th Grand Slam title. “[It is] still a very long way. For me, [the] past couple of years, I learned one thing [I need to do] right now is to take really one match at a time, and yes, of course I’m dreaming about winning another Slam, and it would be amazing if I do it here,” Djokovic said in the post-game press conference.
“But I can’t allow myself to go that far with my thinking, because, yeah, I just need to focus on what needs to be done to win a match, next match, next challenge. The last Grand Slam I won was here actually two years ago, so it would be a nice journey in the past couple of years to close the circle here again,” he added.
“It is what it is. We had predicted it might happen. She is not very happy about me being absent from her birthday party. Don’t remind me of that, please,” Djokovic said.
