Djokovic survives scare at US Open

In history of sorts, no players from the host country in quarterfinal stage

New York: For 1 1/2 sets, including one particularly compelling and competitive 24-point game, Novak Djokovic’s fourth-round opponent at the U.S. Open — Jenson Brooksby, the last American left in singles — gave him fits amid a raucous atmosphere at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

That let Djokovic, above all, and everyone else, know that Brooksby — a 20-year-old wild-card 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’s managed to move within three victories of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis in 52 years.

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Settling in and sending messages, to the fans with roars and to Brooksby with some staredowns, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic improved to 25-0 in majors this year by winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Monday night.

He extended his pursuit of a true Grand Slam and a record-breaking 21st major championship, while also making this the first time in the history of the U.S. Open, an event that dates to the 1880s, with zero men or women from the host country in the quarterfinals.

“Was a good finish. It wasn’t a good start,” said Djokovic, who hopes to add a fourth US Open title to a collection that’s been boosted by his ninth at the Australian Open in February, second at the French Open in June and sixth at Wimbledon in July. He next meets No. 6 Matteo Berrettini of Italy in a rematch of the final at the All England Club.

One key to Monday’s turnaround: Djokovic broke in Brooksby’s initial service game in each of the last three sets. “I wanted to wear him down,” Djokovic said, “and it worked.”

Affected by a left hip that bothered him earlier in the tournament, 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 by the setting or the circumstances.

“We’re going to see a lot of him in the future,” said Djokovic, who would be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Slam trophies in one year.

The other quarterfinals on the men’s side: No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany vs. Lloyd Harris of South Africa, No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada vs. 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, and No. 2 Daniil Medevev of Russia vs qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.

The women’s round-of-eight matchups: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus vs. No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, No. 5 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine vs. 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez of Canada, No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland vs. 18-year-old qualifier Emma Raducanu of Britain, and No. 4 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic against No. 17 Maria Sakkari of Greece.

Sakkari beat 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3 in a match that ended at 2:13 a.m., making it the latest-finishing women’s match in tournament history.

Brooksby’s exit — certainly no shame in losing to Djokovic, of course — followed the fourth-round departures earlier Monday by No. 22 seed Reilly Opelka from the men’s draw with a 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 loss to Harris, and by unseeded Shelby Rogers from the women’s draw with a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Raducanu.

Rogers upset Ash Barty, a two-time major champion who is ranked No. 1, in the third round, but was unable to produce the same level of tennis in what she termed a “pretty embarrassing” performance Monday.

The brackets began with 43 Americans in the singles fields.

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