For 30 minutes and a full set toward the beginning, then, at that point one especially convincing and serious game later, Novak Djokovic’s rival in the US Open’s fourth round, Jenson Brooksby, gave him fits and made a rambunctious climate under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That let Djokovic, most importantly, and every other person, as well, realize that Brooksby — a 20-year-old special case section from California who is positioned 99th and at no other time had been on this kind of stage — had a place. And afterward, as anyone might expect, Djokovic showed why he is the sort of person he is and how he’s figured out how to move inside three triumphs of the first schedule year Grand Slam in quite a while’s tennis in 52 years.
It is the first run through throughout the entire existence of an occasion that dates to the 1880s that no man or lady from the host country arrived at the quarterfinals.
One key to the turnaround by Djokovic, as great a returner as there is: He bankrupt in Brooksby’s underlying help game in every one of the last three sets.
Maybe influenced by the actual idea of the drawn out trades, Brooksby was visited by a mentor after the subsequent set and again after the third. All things considered, for somebody who never had gone to Ashe’s blue court until around two hours before the match, whenever he got an opportunity to rehearse there, Brooksby never appeared to be overpowered by the setting or the conditions.
Getting comfortable and sending messages, to the fans with thunders and to Brooksby with some staredowns, No. 1 Djokovic improved to 25-0 in majors this year by winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Monday night. He expanded his quest for a genuine Slam and a record-breaking 21st significant title while additionally dispensing with the last American singles player in the competition.
“A very young, very talented player,” Djokovic said.
“I told him at the net a bright future is ahead of him.” His 6-foot-4 strides and reach, his anticipation, his variety including a well-disguised two-handed backhand slice, his think-steps-ahead point construction, his commitment to patterns drawn up by his coach at home in Sacramento since age 7, Joe Gilbert — all left Djokovic a tad discombobulated early.
“It wasn’t a great start for me. Obviously, Jenson was pumped. He had a clear game plan. He was executing all the shots efficiently. I was on my back foot,” said Djokovic, who is trying to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Slam trophies in one year and also aiming to eclipse the men’s mark of 20 career majors he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
