2024-08-30 11:30:37
Novak Djokovic continues his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open on Friday.
The 37-year-old Serbian, who shares 24 Grand Slam singles titles with Margaret Court, will be seeded No. 28 in the evening event at Arthur Ashe Stadium at 00:00 BST compete as a player.
Defending champion Djokovic and Popyrin met for the third time at a Grand Slam event this year, with the Serbian winning in four sets at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
“I’m happy to win four sets again. Don’t get me wrong. But he continues to get closer and closer, knocking on that door,” Djokovic said.
“He’s been playing some great tennis, so there’s no reason for him not to believe that he can play well and that he’s going to win. I know that.
“But I also know what to expect and I’ll do my homework and see what needs to be done.”
Djokovic reached the third round after compatriot László Djere retired injured in the second round, while Popyrin, 25, defeated Spain’s Pedro Martinez in straight sets .
The Serbian is a four-time winner at Flushing Meadows, while Popyrin failed to advance to the third round on his previous two occasions.
In the women’s draw, third seed U.S. coco goff Continue to compete with the Ukrainian team for the title Elena Svitolina Held at Arthur Ashe Court at 17:00 Summer Time.
The 20-year-old Gauff defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria in straight sets to prepare for her match with No. 27 seed Svitolina, who eased past compatriot Angeli 6-1 6-2 Anna Kalinina.
Gauff’s victory was her ninth straight at the US Open, but she faced in-form former world No. 3 Svitolina, who did not drop serve against Kalinina .
The tie was the fifth meeting between the two, with each having two wins.
Arthur Ashe Court last Belarusian second seed Alina Sabalenka Facing Russia’s No. 29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka will be hoping to go one better after finishing runner-up in New York last year, while Alexandrova is aiming to reach the fourth round for the first time at Flushing Meadows.
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