By David Ramirez
04 Sep 2023, 08:55 AM EDT
Novak Djokovic defeated Croatian Borna Gojo in the fourth round of the US Open 6-2, 7-5, 6-4, for his 85th career victory in the last Grand Slam tournament of the year.
On Sunday night, the Serb appeared to have made all the necessary adjustments to regain form, after surviving a scare on Friday in his five-set comeback in their third round match.
Gojo, coming off qualifying, was no big problem for the No.2 seed who cruised to a comfortable straight-sets victory to clinch a spot in the US Open quarterfinals.
In the previous matches Gojo showed great form in his US Open main draw debut, not dropping a set in his first three matches and holding serve 40 of 42 times. But leading Djokovic, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, was a heavier task compared to his first three ranked opponents.
“I knew that Borna has a great game. I saw that he is an important player, his serve and his forehand are important weapons, he moves quite well for a big guy, so the key points for me were to neutralize his serve”, commented the Serb after the game. game.
Now Djokovic can see more clearly the route to the coveted 24th Grand Slam title.
The three-time US Open champion in the round of 16 will face No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz, a straight-sets winner over qualifier Dominic Stricker.
Djokovic is 7-0 against the American, having dropped just two sets in their four-year history.
For his part, Fritz, 25 years old and the best ranked American in the US Open, ranks the match against Novak Djokovic, among the most important of his career.
“I don’t need to vary my game, or try to hit bigger serves or aim closer to the lines, just because it’s Novak. I think I need to play within myself and trust that if I’m playing well it will be enough and I don’t need to do anything extra,” Friz declared after his win over Dominic Stricker.
For Fritz, an eventual victory against the Serbian will be the opportunity to reach the semifinals of a major for the first time in his career.
Meanwhile for Djokovic, his fourth-round win on Sunday marks the start of his 13th US Open quarterfinal appearance, tying him with Andre Agassi and Roger Federer for second behind Ivan Lendl’s 17.