{"id":108352,"date":"2025-08-30T19:29:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T19:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/108352\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T19:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T19:29:10","slug":"novak-djokovic-advances-as-injuries-rock-u-s-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/108352\/","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic advances as injuries rock U.S. Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic hit 18 aces on his way to beating Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-3.Adam Hunger\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Ben Shelton\u2019s U.S. Open campaign ended in tears on Friday after he withdrew mid-match with a shoulder injury he called the \u201cworst pain\u201d of his life, while milestone man Novak Djokovic battled through his own physical struggles to reach the fourth round.<\/p>\n

Canadian Open champion Shelton was locked in an entertaining contest with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the day\u2019s opening match on Louis Armstrong Stadium when his tournament suddenly unravelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just did something to my shoulder, I don\u2019t know what it is. I\u2019m in a lot of pain,\u201d the American sixth seed told his father and coach Bryan during a medical timeout.<\/p>\n

As left-hander Mannarino fought back to level the match at two sets all, a devastated Shelton wiped away tears before withdrawing ahead of the decider, leaving fans gasping at Louis Armstrong Stadium.<\/p>\n

Shelton\u2019s compatriot 17th seed Frances Tiafoe lost 6-4 6-3 7-6(7) to big-serving German Jan-Lennard Struff at the Grandstand, while 10th seed Emma Navarro went down 4-6 6-4 6-4 to unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova in another upset.<\/p>\n

As the younger generation nursed their wounds, 38-year-old Djokovic was making history under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.<\/p>\n

The Serb recovered from a lower back problem to knock out Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-7(4) 6-2 6-3, eliminating the last remaining Briton in the men\u2019s draw and becoming the oldest man to reach the last 16 at Flushing Meadows since Jimmy Connors in 1991.<\/p>\n

The four-time U.S. Open winner also surpassed Roger Federer to become the man with the most hardcourt victories at the majors with his 192nd win, inching closer to a record 25th Grand Slam title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m good, man. I\u2019m as young as ever and strong as ever,\u201d said Djokovic after his battling victory.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, 2021 champion Emma Raducanu fell 6-1 6-2 to Elena Rybakina at the same Louis Armstrong Stadium that witnessed Shelton\u2019s anguish, as British hopes in the women\u2019s draw ended with clinical efficiency from the Kazakh.<\/p>\n

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz weathered his own injury scare, overcoming knee concerns to dismantle Italian Luciano Darderi 6-2 6-4 6-0.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just the game that he broke my serve, on the last point after the serve … I just felt something in the knee,\u201d said Alcaraz, who took a precautionary medical timeout but allayed concerns with a devastating display.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was bothering me. But after five-six points it was gone. I was worried after that. That\u2019s why I asked for the physio. It was nothing serious, so just for precaution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defending women\u2019s champion Aryna Sabalenka knocked out Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6(2) to erase the sting of her 2021 U.S. Open semi-final upset at the hands of the Canadian.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted this revenge,\u201d three-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka said. \u201cI\u2019m very happy with the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the women\u2019s draw, fourth seed Jessica Pegula progressed with a 6-1 7-5 victory over twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and was joined in the fourth round by former Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 7-6(4) 6-1.<\/p>\n

The last 16 will also feature unseeded American Taylor Townsend, who advanced with a 7-5 6-2 victory over fifth seed Mirra Andreeva in another massive upset.<\/p>\n

Shelton, despite his heartbreak, refused to wallow in self-pity when he faced the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been pretty fortunate with my life: blessings, talents, a lot of things God\u2019s given me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t hear me over here pouting about how bad things are with the summer that I\u2019ve had, the things I\u2019ve been able to do in this sport in a short amount of time and the people I got around me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fourth seed Taylor Fritz lifted some of the gloom with a gritty 7-6(3) 6-7(9) 6-4 6-4 victory over Switzerland\u2019s Jerome Kym in the last match at Ashe, becoming the only remaining American man in the last 16.<\/p>\n

He may be joined in the next round by 14th-seed Tommy Paul, who faces Alexander Bublik on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Novak Djokovic hit 18 aces on his way to beating Cam Norrie 6-4,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,593,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-108352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-tennis","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}