Djokovic storms into last eight despite injury worries

Novak Djokovic defeated Jan-Lennard Struff to reach the US Open quarter-finals, continuing his quest for the record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title in style.

The Serb raced to a dominant 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory in less than two hours despite receiving medical attention twice.

Questions remain about the 38-year-old’s physical condition despite the win as further proof of his pedigree.

Djokovic skipped the ATP Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati for his first tournament since July when he lost in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

In his third-round victory over Britain’s Cameron Norrie, he struggled with a lower back injury and appeared worn out in his opening two matches in New York.

As he demanded a physical to treat a neck condition before experiencing a problem with his right forearm against German Struff, there were signs of wear and tear.

The seven-time world champion praised his serve for preventing trouble for him at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“Serving well is undoubtedly helpful. Djokovic said, “I think I had a great serving performance tonight as well as in the final round.”

I just saw the statistics, and I out-served one of the players this year with the most aces, so that’s a great stat.

That obviously makes my day-to-day on the court easier. Perhaps I shouldn’t put in as much effort or overtime than I should.

Djokovic said his daughter Tara was upset that the quarter-final will take place on the same day as her birthday.

She complained that I was unable to attend the birthday party because she was upset. Please don’t remind me of that, Djokovic, who dedicates his violin performance to his daughter at the conclusion of each win.

If I’m here, I’ll try to win. At least I’m going to try to win her over and give her that kind of gift.

For her birthday party, I’m going to send some lovely presents as well as some lovely surprises.

Djokovic became the oldest player to reach the quarter-finals of all four Grand Slam events in a single season at the age of 94 days and 38 years old.

Djokovic responded, “I don’t know how many more I am going to have, so each one is very special,” when asked about the night session being played at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

There is less room for error in his quest for a stand-alone 25th major title as the years pass.

Before his opponent made a first impression on the scoreboard, he raced to a 4-0 lead with a double break before making the best of the first impression against Struff.

Djokovic called for the physio right away after winning the opening set 6-3, but his momentum seemed to have slowed down slightly as he appeared to struggle with his neck.

However, Djokovic persevered without real issues, winning four games in a row to take the lead in the second set after a slow start.

The four-time US Open champion was treated once more for a problem with his right forearm at the end of the set.