WHAT HAPPENED: You’ve got to feel for Jan-Lennard Struff. Whether it’s Melbourne or Queens, the German keeps running into Novak Djokovic. In January, Struff was knocked out of the Australian Open by the world No. 1 in the opening round. He came up short against Djokovic again just days ago in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open. And he was on the losing end once again on Friday night of the 2020 US Open, as the streaking Serb extended his unblemished run to 26-0 in 2020, advancing to the Round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
"It was a very, very good performance from my side," said Djokovic, who will be making his 13th consecutive fourth-round appearance at the US Open. "I managed to read his serve well. I made one necessary break in the first set. I faced two break points in the opening game. The trajectory of the match can go differently if you lose your serve against a big guy like Struff, who serves very well and has a very powerful, aggressive game from the back of the court.”
"I’ve been playing well the last couple of weeks, training well," he added. “I’m feeling very good. I’m confident about my game. I’m taking that into every match that I get to play.”
Djokovic said earlier this week that, while the streak isn’t priority No. 1, it sure provides some added motivation.
"It actually fuels me to play even stronger," he said.
You’ve got to feel for Struff—and for the rest of Djokovic’s US Open draw, too.
Struff came into the match having won 89 percent of his first-serve points through two rounds, second only to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini (90 percent) at the 2020 US Open. But he was up against the best returner in the sport. Djokovic made that clear in the eighth game of the opening set, pressuring No. 29 Struff and forcing a forehand error for the break.
Djokovic opened the second set with another service break. He would grab yet another when, with Struff serving to stay in the set down 3-5, 30-40, his opponent dumped a backhand into the net.
Occasionally employing a serve-and-volley offensive, Struff, 30, did his best to disrupt the proceedings. But Djokovic was having none of it, breaking for 3-1 and 5-1 in the final set.
Struff was 0 for 4 on break points in the one-hour, 42-minute match, while Djokovic converted five of 11.
WHAT IT MEANS: Djokovic will go for his 27th straight win of 2020 on Sunday, when he faces 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who advanced via a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 decision over Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankas. The Spaniard has been here before. He was a US Open semifinalist in 2017. Djokovic owns a 3-0 advantage in head-to-heads.
"He’s a very solid player," said Djokovc. "He doesn’t necessarily possess any big weapons, but every shot from the back of the court—forehand, backhand. His volleys are very good. He serves well, returns. So I’ve got to be ready for a lot of exchanges. It’s going to be a demanding match physically, mentally as well."
MATCH POINT: Following the resumption of the tour last month, Djokovic matched Rafael Nadal’s record of 35 ATP Masters 1000 titles, while becoming the first player to win all nine Masters 1000 tournaments twice.
