Djokovic sets up Slam dunk
American dream turns into nightmare for 20-year-old wildcard entry from California
For half an hour and a full set at the start, then one particularly compelling and competitive game later, Novak Djokovic’s opponent in the US Open tennis tournament fourth round, Jenson Brooksby, gave him fits and created a raucous atmosphere under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That let Djokovic, above all, and everyone else, too, know that Brooksby — a 20-year-old wildcard entry from California who is ranked 99th and never before had been on this sort of stage — belonged.
And then, not surprisingly, Djokovic showed why he is who he is and how he has managed to move to within three victories of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis in 52 years.
Settling in and sending messages, to the fans with roars and to Brooksby with some staredowns, top seed Djokovic improved to 25-0 in majors this year by winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
He extended his pursuit of a true Grand Slam and a record-setting 21st major championship while also eliminating the last American singles player in the tournament.
It is the first time in the history of an event dating back to the 1880s that no man or woman from the host country reached the quarter-finals.
One key to the turnaround by Djokovic, as good a returner as there is: He broke in Brooksby’s initial service game in each of the last three sets.
Perhaps affected by the physical nature of the extended exchanges, Brooksby was visited by a trainer after the second set and again after the third. Still, for someone who never had set foot on Ashe’s blue court until about two hours before the match, when he got a chance to practice there, Brooksby never seemed overwhelmed.
Djokovic, a 34-year-old from Serbia, next meets No 6 Matteo Berrettini, of Italy, in a rematch of the Wimbledon final. The other quarter-finals on the men’s side will be contested between German Alexander Zverev and South Africa’s Lloyd Harris, Felix AugerAliassime of Canada against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, and Daniil Medevev of Russia against qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.
In the women’s draw, Emma Raducanu has gone all the way from the qualifying rounds to the quarterfinals.
The 18-year-old from Britain routed American Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1 to join fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez in the women’s last eight.
Raducanu reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and has gone a step further in the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, becoming just the third female qualifier to reach the US Open quarter-finals in the professional era.
Rogers, who upset No 1 seed Ash Barty in the last round, jumped to a 2-0 lead before Raducanu won the next 11 games.
Raducanu next faces Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic, who defeated Iga Swiatek 7-6 (12), 6-3 to make the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the third time.