- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
ACE Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic started with a bumpy ride against a low-ranked opponent in his round of 16 match at the US Open on Monday (6) but eventually prevailed over to make the quarter-finals.
The world No.1 beat the US’s Jenson Brooksby, ranked 99, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and is now only three wins away from completing the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s singles in more than 50 years. He will face Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini, who he beat in the final of the Wimbledon in July, in the quarters.
“It’s going to be exciting,” the 34-year-old Djokovic said. “He loves the big stage. Big serve, big game overall. I know what to expect. Going to try to prepare a good game plan and hope for the best,” he added.
Australian star Rod Lever was the last man to win all major tennis titles in the same year when he won his fourth career US Open crown in 1969. Besides matching Lever, Djokovic also aims for a men’s singles record of 21st Slam trophy, which would put him ahead of the two other greats of his era – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – both of whom are absent with injuries.
Coming back to Monday’s game, the 20-year-old Brooksby stunned Djokovic in their first meeting by breaking the second and sixth games and firing a service winner to win the first set in less than 30 minutes.
“He just played a perfect first set,” Djokovic said, adding, “I could do nothing. I was still finding my footing on the court.
“I must say it wasn’t a great start. Jenson was pumped. He had a clear game plan. He was executing his shots tremendously. I was on my back foot. He was reading the play well for a set and a half.”
But the experience in the Serbian helped him make a gradual comeback and once he clinched the second set, the challenge looked much easier for him.
