Djokovic lets his emotions show

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic did not seek to keep his thoughts to himself on court Saturday, the way he mostly did through his first two U.S. Open matches. Instead, he let it all out, slapping his chest or sneering with a fist raised to celebrate success, pointing to his ear to ask the crowd for noise.

This was the Djokovic everyone is so accustomed to seeing — yes, winning on the Grand Slam stage, of course, as he always does in this magical season, but also animated and into it, encouraging the spectators to join him for the ride on his path toward tennis history.

Taking another step in his bid to complete the first calendar-year Slam by a man in more than a halfcentury, Djokovic moved into the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the 14th consecutive appearance, coming back to beat Kei Nishikori 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

“I couldn’t break the wall,” is how Nishikori described the task of taking on Djokovic. “He’s very tough ‘til the end.”

Djokovic, a 34-year-old from Serbia who is ranked No. 1, is now 24-0 in the sport’s four most important events this season, having won the Australian Open in February, the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July. The last man to go 4 for 4 at the majors was Rod Laver in 1969; Steffi Graf was the last woman, in 1988.

Win four more matches next week, and Djokovic also would earn his 21st career Slam trophy, breaking the men’s mark he currently shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

It was in the fourth round last year that Djokovic’s U.S. Open ended, defaulted late in the first set for hitting a ball after ceding a game and inadvertently hitting a line judge in the throat. In 2019, an injury ended his trip to New York in the fourth round, too.

Next up will be a match against 20-year-old American wild-card entry Jenson Brooksby or 21st-seeded Aslan Karatsev, who was an Australian Open semifinalist this year.

Other players advancing on a sunny Saturday included Wimbledon runnerup Matteo Berrettini and No. 13 Jannik Sinner — they gave Italy a pair of men in the U.S. Open’s for the first time in the event’s 140-year history — along with Olympic women’s gold medalist Belinda Bencic, 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek and 18-year-old Emma Raducanu of Britain.

Djokovic