Tennis: Djokovic shakes rust with romp into quarters
Reuters
September 5, 2016 12:50 MYT
September 5, 2016 12:50 MYT
(FILE) Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts after winning the men's final match against Britain's Andy Murray at the Roland Garros 2016 French Tennis Open in Paris on June 5, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU
Top seed Novak Djokovic, starved for competitive action, feasted against unseeded Briton Kyle Edmund, gobbling up a large serving of points in a 6-2 6-1 6-4 romp on Sunday that put him into the U.S. Open quarter-finals.
Djokovic had a second-round walkover as Czech Jiri Vesely withdrew due to injury, and was leading 4-2 in his third-round match when Russian Mikhail Youzhny retired with a leg ailment making it six days since his last full match.
The Serb kept himself busy on practice courts but looked elated to cut loose against an actual opponent, making Edmund the target of his arsenal of rifled groundstroke, angled volleys, pinpoint passing shots, lobs and drop shots.
"Feels great to play a match," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "I haven't played much tennis.
"Baseline shots, both forehand and backhand, were working very well. Think I was most pleased with that."
After the first two lopsided sets, Edmund made the third set competitive and was on serve at 4-4 before the Serb closed out the set to end the match.
Djokovic's victory put him into the last eight against ninth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a 6-3 6-3 6-7(7) 6-2 winner against American 26th seed Jack Sock.