Djokovic Surges Into Cincinnati Quarterfinals
World number one Novak Djokovic found himself in serious trouble on Thursday afternoon, but powered his way into the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win over 13th seeded Belgian David Goffin.
After seeing a 4-1 first-set advantage erased, Djokovic broke late to take the opener 6-4. But Goffin responded with a flurry, breaking twice in the second set to force the match into a deciding third frame.
He then opened up a double-break advantage and a 3-0 lead, and seemed to be on the brink of a major upset. But the Serb turned his game up a notch, winning six straight games to silence Goffin and move into the final eight in Cincinnati.
“Credit to him for playing some solid, consistent tennis, always making me play an extra shot,” said Djokovic. “Luckily for me, I managed to bounce back, dig myself out of this hole I was in…I will try to take the positives out of this match.”
Djokovic will next play fifth-seed Stan Wawrinka.
The Swiss found himself in a serving battle with ace specialist Ivo Karlovic. He came back from a set down and fought off 35 aces to beat Karlovic 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(5), capturing the win after Karlovic double-faulted on match point in the final tiebreak.
In other day action, Ukrainian qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov hung on to beat Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to set up a matchup with sixth-seed Tomas Berdych, who routed Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-0, 6-1.
