Djokovic learned his lesson, but the big threat came in the quarterfinals

Many are looking forward to seeing Novak Djokovic in action this Sunday. After a huge scare that led to his passage to the third round, the Serb faced each other in the round of 16 of the US Open against the Croatian Borna Gojo (105), an insignificant rival who should not have placed him to the problem.

So it is. Unlike what happened against Laslo Djere, the next world number 1 came out very focused and made the difference from the start with an early break that helped them comfortably dominate the first set closing with a clear 6-2.

In the second, Nole took his foot off the accelerator a bit and Gojo took advantage of it to take the lead., an advantage that hardly lasted. The best version of the Serbian reappeared to recover the service break and level at five, with her rival on shaky legs to lose 7-5.

The third set has a bit of history. A very solid Djokovic on serve controlled the game at all times and, when he had the chance, he broke his rival’s serve to seal the game and seal his passage to the quarterfinals 6-2, 7-5 and 6-4 in two hours and 26 minutes.

This is the thirteenth time Djokovic has reached the quarterfinals. in Flushing Meadows.

“Gojo is a tennis player with big shots, serve, forehand… Big weapon. And he moves very well for a big man“Djokovic will praise his opponent tonight on the track as the duel ends.

In this sense, ‘Nole’ said it was key to “neutralize his service” and He was “happy” to take the match in three sets.

Now comes the moment of truth for Djokovic, who will face American Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals (9)Indian Wells champion in 2022 and is having a sensational US Open so far, as he showed this morning when he defeated Swiss Dominic Stricker (128) 7-6(2), 6-4 and 6-4 in two hours and 13 minutes..

Fritz will have the support of the New York fans, but Djokovic has precedents between the two in his favor as he has won all seven games in which the American has been measured so far.

On his next opponent, Djokovic said Fritz was playing “fantastic tennis”stressed that he has already established himself as a “top 10” player and stressed that every game “will be more difficult from now on”.

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“But I am ready for this challenge and it will be great.“, he hinted.

If he gets through that match against Fritz, the triple US Open champion will face another American again, making it a battle between compatriots to star. Frances Tiafoe (10) and Ben Shelton (47).

In the final you will see faces with Alcaraz, current champion of the ‘big’ of New York and with whom he experienced memorable duels this year such as the Wimbledon final (victory for the Spaniard) and the battle for the Cincinnati Masters 1,000 title (victory for the Serb).

Djokovic and Serena Williams are the two tennis players with the most ‘grand slams’ in the Open Era with 23 titles.but the one from Belgrade seeks to match Margaret Court (24), who has an absolute record, with a win at the US Open.