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New York - Defending champion Novak Djokovic booked a 10th
straight US Open semi-final appearance when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired trailing
6-3, 6-2 in their marquee quarter-final on Tuesday.
It was the third time in five matches that an opponent's
injury has worked to Djokovic's advantage, after his walkover into the third
round where Mikhail Youzhny retired after just six games.
Ninth-seeded Tsonga gave him more of a workout, but even
before an apparent left knee injury began to trouble the Frenchman in the
second set Djokovic had the match well in hand.
The Serbian world number one will face another Frenchman,
Gael Monfils, for a place in Sunday's championship match after the 10th seed
pummelled compatriot Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
It was the first time in 89 years that three French men had
reached the quarter-finals of the US championships.
Tsonga was the highest seed among them, but his challenge
ended with a whimper.
Down two breaks at 2-5 in the second, he called for the
trainer, wincing as his knee was manipulated.
A merciless Djokovic then served out the set at love, firing
a 189.9 Km/h ace - his first of the contest - on set point.
After Tsonga opened the third set with a double fault he
called a halt.
"I really wish Jo a quick recovery," Djokovic
said. "He's a fighter, he's somebody that loves the big stage."
But Tsonga wasn't able to shine on that stage. Despite an
entertaining array of shots, the longer the rallies went the more he missed,
his unforced errors eventually climbing to 37.
He gifted a break to Djokovic with three double faults to
fall behind 2-4 in the opening set, and while he regained the break he dropped
his serve again in the next game and suddenly Djokovic was serving for the set.
A break for 2-1 in the second was the only opening Djokovic
needed. He backed up the break with an emphatic hold at love, broke again for
5-2 and didn't face a break point in the second frame.
It was an encouraging performance for a player who arrived
in New York off a third-round exit at Wimbledon and a first-round exit at the
Rio Olympics.
Although he won the Toronto Masters, he pulled out of
Cincinnati with a left wrist injury.
"I thought that I came out with the right
intensity," Djokovic said.
"The quality of my game and level of performance has
risen in last couple of days, which obviously encourages me prior to the last
four.
"I put myself in a position again to be one match away
from the finals. As the tournament progresses, I feel like I'm getting
better."
In Monfils, 12-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic will face a
player whose only prior semi-final run at a major came back in 2008 at the
French Open.
Monfils was in control throughout against the 22-year-old
Pouille, who was coming off an epic fifth-set tiebreaker win over 14-time major
winner Rafael Nadal.
That marked the 24th-seeded Pouille's third straight
five-setter. Whether it was a let-down after the biggest win of his career or
sheer fatigue, his 44 unforced errors meant he never stood a chance against a
dialled-in Monfils.
"Of course I was a bit tired today," Pouille said.
"It would have been better if I played a bit less time on court. Gael was
playing very good. He was better than me today."
Dictating from the baseline, Monfils took charge with seven
of his 13 aces in the opening set, gaining the only break he needed in the
seventh game.
Pouille conceded a break with a stream of errors to fall 1-2
down in the second, and a break of more than 15 minutes to close the new Arthur
Ashe stadium roof, with Monfils up 4-3, did nothing to change the momentum.
After holding with back-to-back aces, Monfils broke the
error-prone Pouille at love to take the set.
"I was lucky because I had a break so it was easy in my
mind," Monfils said of coping with the delay. "I just felt so good
(and) it was going to be even better because it was going to be indoors. I just
kept going with my game plan."
One break was all he needed in the third, as he wrapped up
the match without facing a break point.
The remaining quarter-finals take place on Wednesday with Wimbledon and Olympic champion Andy Murray of Britain facing sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan and third-seeded Stan Wawrkina of Switzerland facing Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 champion whose career was nearly derailed by a series of wrist injuries.
Results from the ninth day of the 2016 US Open tennis championships at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday (x denotes seeded player):
Men
Quarter-finals
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x9) 6-3, 6-2, retired
Gael Monfils (FRA x10) bt Lucas Pouille (FRA x24) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Women
Quarter-finals
Angelique Kerber (GER x2) bt Roberta Vinci (ITA x7) 7-5, 6-0
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) bt Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 6-0, 6-2
