The Serbian great Novak Djokovic took one step closer to a record 25th Grand Slam after brushing aside Briton Cameron Norrie in four sets, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday morning at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Djokovic stayed in the hunt for his fifth US Open title after quickly recovering from a lower back problem.
The 38-year-old, who became the oldest man to reach the last 16 at Flushing Meadows since American Jimmy Connors, said he feels young and strong as ever after beating Norrie.
“I’m good, man. I’m as young as ever and strong as ever,” he said after the win.
Already the holder of the most Grand Slam titles (24) and match wins (395), Djokovic reached another milestone by surpassing Swiss maestro Roger Federer to become the man with the most hardcourt victories at the majors with his 192nd win. He also improved his spotless record against Norrie to 7-0.
“I guess coming into the match, any match, you really want to win in straight sets without any drama and just ease through, but that’s not possible,” said Djokovic, who is playing in his first event since losing to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon last month.
“My team wants me to suffer on the court so I can get some more minutes spent in match play. It’s good that I get tested. I hadn’t played any matches since Wimbledon and it’s been for us quite a long time, five to six weeks. I’m still trying to find my groove and my rhythm on court,” added the Serb, who said his performance against Norrie was an improvement on his first two matches.
Fire on all cylinders
“I think it was probably the best serving performance of the tournament. So of course I’m glad. It’s probably one of the most, if not the most important shot in the game. Yeah, I’m glad how I executed that shot,” he added.
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Djokovic then began to feel the effects of a back problem after going up 5-4 and received treatment off the court before returning to serve out the opening set. He called for more medical attention three games into the next set and his first-serve speed briefly dipped following that break in play.
However, he started to fire on all cylinders again and went toe-to-toe with Norrie, who had to fight back from a two-point deficit early in the tiebreak to go level in the match.
Djokovic, who will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the fourth round, said he does not want to reveal much about his injury to his rivals. “You have some ups and downs. I guess you don’t want to reveal too much (about the injury) to the rivals listening and watching,” he said.
With Reuters inputs
