Staff Reporter.
Novak Djokovic was again made to fight hard as he beat American wildcard Jenson Brooksby to reach the US Open quarter-finals and keep his calendar Grand Slam hopes alive.
The world number one overcame a poor first set to win a bruising encounter 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-2.
He was pushed all the way by Brooksby, who was well-supported by the full crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Djokovic will face Matteo Berrettini for a place in the semi-finals.
Djokovic is three wins away from his 21st Grand Slam title, which would be a men’s record.
“It has been now 16 years since my first centre court Grand Slam match. It has been a while. But what a great ride,” he said.
“It’s difficult to reflect on everything while you’re still in the bus and you’re still riding. Of course, I appreciate every single step in the journey.”
He found himself embroiled in a superb encounter with world number 99 Brooksby, with momentum switching back and forth across the two hours 58 minutes.
The two players were involved in punishing rallies, with the crowd often out of their seats to applaud their court coverage and shots.
Afterwards they shared a warm handshake at the net, with Djokovic offering some words of encouragement to the 20-year-old.
“He just played a perfect first set and he is very clever. I couldn’t do anything,” Djokovic said.
“I enjoyed it, I truly did. You [the crowd] gave both players amazing energy to show what we can do.”
He is joined in the quarter-finals by fourth seed Alexander Zverev, who beat Jannik Sinner.
The German, who lost to Dominic Thiem in last year’s final, beat Italy’s Sinner 6-4 6-4 7-6 (9-7).
He will face Lloyd Harris for a semi-final spot after the South African beat Reilly Opelka in four sets.
Harris eliminated the American 22nd seed in four sets, prevailing 6-7(), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in a match which lasted two hours and 35 minutes.
The 24-year-old joins Kevin Anderson as the second South African Grand Slam men’s quarter-finalist since Wayne Ferreira at the 2003 Australian Open.
Zverev is on a 15-match winning streak, having claimed the Cincinnati Open title in the lead-up to the US Open, following Olympic gold in Tokyo.