Djokovic Into U.S. Open Round of 16 for Seventh Consecutive Year
Sunday night under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, it was world number one and 2013 U.S. Open top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia with an impressive 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 win over Joao Sousa of Portugal to vault the defending champ into the U.S. Open Round of 16 for the seventh consecutive year. Djokovic will next play the unseeded Marcel Granollers of Spain in the fourth round, who came back from two-sets-to-one down to defeat American wild card Tim Smyczek on Sunday, 6-4, 4-6, 0-6, 6-3, 7-5. Smyczek was the last American still in contention in the men’s singles draw.
"It’s definitely a unique experience and New York has this unique vibe, especially in the night," said Djokovic. "I’ve been working on basically every element in my game, so hopefully I can serve a little bit more efficiently and get some more free points on that in the next matches."
Granollers reaches the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time in his career and matches his best Grand Slam performance. Granollers is also seeded third in men’s doubles with partner and fellow countryman Marc Lopez.
"I love playing these types of matches," said Granollers. "If you win, it’s even better. The fans were supporting him much more, but that’s normal. I’m just very happy to come away with the win."
Also on Sunday at Louis Armstrong Stadium, it was Mikhail Youzhny with a 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over the number 12 seed Tommy Haas. Youzhny is a two-time U.S. Open semifinalist, advancing to the final four in 2006 and again in 2010. Youzhny will next face Lleyton Hewitt, winner of the 2001 U.S. Open. Hewitt has a 5-1 head-to-head record against Youzhny.
"It was a pretty nervous match, there were many mistakes from both sides," said Youzhny. "I had less mistakes than him. I felt like he was missing a lot in the first set and I was giving him shots that he could miss. It was a close match. It was a really nice atmosphere out there though."
Hewitt was a winner Sunday afternoon, after a near three-hour marathon against 23-year-old Evgeny Donskoy, 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1.
"I came out aggressive at the start and I played well right at the start to get up that early break. That was sort of the telling point for that first set," said Hewitt.
Also on Sunday, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan advanced to the Round of 16 after his 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-1 win over Andreas Seppi of Italy. Awaiting Istomin is defending champion Andy Murray, a 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 winner Sunday over Florian Mayer. Murray, has dropped just the one set so far in his U.S. Open title defense, in round two against Leonardo Mayer
Ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka also advanced to the Round of 16 Sunday, after his 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 win over Marcos Baghdatis. Wawrinka will next face the number five seed Tomas Berdych, a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 winner over the number 31 seed, Julien Benneteau of France. It’s been three years since Berdych reached his only Grand Slam final appearance, in 2010 at Wimbledon.
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Credit all photos to Adam Wolfthal
Tomas Berdych was a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 winner over the number 31 seed, Julien Benneteau of France in Sunday action at the 2013 U.S. Open
Defending U.S. Open champion Andy Murray was a 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 winner Sunday over Florian Mayer to move on to the Round of 16
