Agence France Presse
New York, Sept 7: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic reached his 26th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal but only after surviving a US Open scare against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.
The 2011 champion won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to set-up a clash against Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez.
Djokovic gave up a 4-2 lead in the second set and saw an early break clawed back in the fourth by the 23rd seeded Agut.
The Serb was also broken when serving for the match at 5-2 as Agut unleashed a barrage of deep, murderous forehands before steadying himself to claim his 60th win of the year.
“He fought and hung in there. It was a great match,” said Djokovic, who hit 42 winners but also committed 37 unforced errors.
Feliciano Lopez reached his first US Open quarterfinal at the 14th attempt with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 win over Italy’s Fabio Fognini, the conqueror of Rafael Nadal in the previous round.
Lopez, who will meet Djokovic in the quarters, said the Serb will hold the cards having won all of the pair’s five meetings.
“I will be 34 in September so it’s a great feeling to be playing like this and reaching my first US Open quarterfinal,” Lopez said.
Defending champion Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga set up Tuesday’s other quarterfinal clash.
Cilic made the last eight for the fourth time with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 win over France’s Jeremy Chardy.
The Croatian ninth seed, took his record in New York to 11 successive wins after capturing his maiden Grand Slam title in the city last year.
But the 26-year-old had to overcome an injury scare in the second set to stay alive in the tournament when he rolled his right ankle.
French 19th seed Tsonga reached his second New York quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over unseeded compatriot Benoit Paire, the man who opened up the draw by knocking out fourth seed Kei Nishikori in the first round.
The 30-year-old Tsonga has now held all 56 service games at the tournament. Cilic has a 4-1 career lead over Tsonga in main tour matches, winning the pair’s last three without dropping a set.
Tsonga’s only win was in the 2011 Cincinnati Masters. “I have the feeling that I am playing my best tennis and I hope this will continue,” said Tsonga.
Sania-Hingis in quarters
New York: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis stormed into the US Open quarterfinals with a straight-set triumph in their third-round match here Sunday. The top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair eased past 13th seeded Dutch-Czech combination of Michaella Krajicek and Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-0 in a contest which lasted 59 minutes.
Results
Novak Djokovic bt Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Feliciano Lopez bt Fabio Fognini 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
Marin Cilic bt Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Benoit Paire 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
