New York - Novak Djokovic steamed into the quarter-finals of
the US Open with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory against 84th-ranked Briton Kyle
Edmund.
Edmund, playing in a Grand Slam fourth round for the first
time, barely got a look-in during the first two sets against the world number
one and defending champion, who booked a last-eight meeting with ninth-seeded
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2 winner over American
Jack Sock.
"Feels great to play a full match after a weird couple
of days when I didn't have too much tennis," said Djokovic, who received a
walkover into the third round when Czech Jiri Vesely pulled out of the
tournament injured and played just six games before third-round foe Mikhail
Youzhy retired.
Even with the extra rest, however, he required on-court
treatment on his right arm - the same one he had treated during his scrappy first-round
victory over Jerzy Janowicz.
Having raced through the first two sets in just over an
hour, Djokovic sought treatment after surrendering his first service break of
the night - starting a run of three straight games for Edmund that gave the
Briton a 3-2 lead.
Djokovic put the set back on serve with a break for 3-3, and
broke Edmund at love to close out the match.
Even after the tighter third set, Djokovic was pleased with
his night's work.
"I came out of the blocks with high intensity which was hard after waiting all day to start the match," he said. "I made him work for every point."
Results from the seventh day of the 2016 US Open tennis championships at Flushing Meadows on Sunday (x denotes seeded player):
Men
4th rd
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Kyle Edmund (GBR) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x9) bt Jack Sock (USA x26) 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2
Lucas Pouille (FRA x24) bt Rafael Nadal (ESP x4) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6)
Gael Monfils (FRA x10) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Women
4th rd
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) bt Madison Keys (USA x8) 6-3, 6-4
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) bt Johanna Konta (GBR x13) 6-4, 7-5
Roberta Vinci (ITA x7) bt Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 7-6 (7/5), 6-2
Angelique Kerber (GER x2) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x14) 6-3, 7-5