Djokovic wins, gets crowd on his side in historic pursuit
At least for one day, Novak Djokovic had the Flushing fans behind his pursuit of history. But that love probably won’t travel to his next match against America’s Cinderella story.
Djokovic, the world’s No. 1, overcame a deficit and a little adversity to topple Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the third round Saturday afternoon, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, playing to the crowd and keeping alive the hope for men’s tennis’ first calendar Grand Slam in 52 years.
He next faces 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby, the upstart from Sacramento, who upset 21st-seeded Aslan Karatsev in a five-set marathon to reach the Round of 16 in his first US Open.
Brooksby, who had the crowd on Court 17 in a tizzy Saturday evening, has Djokovic’s attention. This is just his second major tournament.
“He’s one of the players (the) locker room talks lately about because of his talent,” Djokovic said. “An unorthodox style. He’s a very intelligent player.”
With Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal out because of injuries, Djokovic is easily the top male attraction at the U.S. Open, and probably across both draws after Serena Williams’ withdrawal and Naomi Osaka’s early elimination.
But he’s also been something of a foil in Flushing, curiously unliked by the crowds at Ashe Stadium. It’s easy to blame that status on the ejection from the tournament last year for his moment of frustration, when he accidentally forehanded a ball into a lineswoman’s throat. There’s also Djokovic’s anti-vaccination sentiment during a pandemic, and that cheesy “wolf energy” slogan (ESPN awkwardly asked Djokovic post-match to comment on his girlfriend’s wolf t-shirt).
Truthfully, however, Djokovic was never the darling like Federer or Nadal. There isn’t vitriol from the crowd. Just a desire to see somebody else win. It was evident in the first round, and Djokovic called the atmosphere “not ideal.”
But the 34-year-old flipped the script Saturday, eliciting a positive reaction after fans started the match behind Nishikori. Djokovic shouted, gestured and celebrated after winning points. It doesn’t take much to turn Flushing.
“Right now, I am (happy with the crowd),” Djokovic said immediately after the match. “Thank you so much. I appreciate your contribution.”
Djokovic later added that it wasn’t a pre-planned maneuver to woo the crowd.
“I don’t plan to have those kind of emotional moments on the court whether good or bad. It just happens,” he said. “In the heat of the battle, when you feel like the moment is very important, and you just want to get those things out of yourself, out of your system, try to ride on that energy wave that you create, whether it’s with yourself, whether it’s with the crowd, just really depends.”
Djokovic went down an early break in the first set, recovered, and dropped the tiebreaker. He was vulnerable in the second set, benefitting from his opponent choking away seven break points.
And even though the match lasted over three hours, the result never felt in doubt after the second set. Nishikori entered the tournament unseeded and was mopped by Djokovic in straight sets at the Olympics. It was Djokovic’s 17th consecutive win against the Japanese hardcourt specialist.
Brooksby, on the other hand, has no history against Djokovic and never advanced this far in a major.
ROGERS UPSETS BARTY
Women’s No. 1 Ash Barty is out of the U.S. Open.
Shelby Rogers took the first set and rallied from three points down in the third to upset Barty 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 (5) at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the fourth round.
Rogers had been 0-6 lifetime against top-seeded players.
Rogers, the last American left in the women’s draw, was fantastic in the third, hitting backhand winners and using a 103 mph serve to fight her way back against the reigning Wimbledon champion.