Djokovic, Trio of Frenchman Start QF Clashes
Djokovic, Trio of Frenchman Start QF Clashes
Top seed will look to reach final four in New York
A two-time US Open champion and a trio of Frenchman will battle it out on Tuesday for two of the four semi-final spots at the US Open.
Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic will continue his pursuit of a third US Open title when he meets ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Djokovic had spent just three hours and eight minutes on court in reaching the fourth round, thanks to a walkover and a withdrawal, but he showed glimpses of his best in a straight-sets rout of Kyle Edmund.
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Tsonga is through to the quarter-finals, his 14th at Grand Slam level, for the second straight year. Only once has he progressed to a Grand Slam final and the man who would deny him at the 2008 Australian Open was the Serbian he next faces. Tsonga was impressive in dismissing Jack Sock in the fourth round but has beaten Djokovic only six times in 21 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings.
Whoever the victor, a Frenchman will await in the semi-finals with 10th seed Gael Monfils and 24th seed Lucas Pouille to clash. Monfils, enjoying his most consistent season to date, won his biggest ATP World Tour title at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. leading in. He has rolled through his first four matches without losing a set, comfortably dismissing Marcos Baghdatis in the fourth round. Pouille is coming off his biggest career win, a five-set upset of two-time former champion Rafael Nadal.
Read More: Pouille Shocks Nadal In New York
It marks Pouille’s second straight Grand Slam quarter-final, and he will be looking to avenge defeat from his only prior match-up with Monfils, a five-setter in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.