New York— Top-ranked Novak Djokovic survived a marathon tiebreaker then cruised the rest of the way to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during his match against Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine during the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill
The Serb won 7-6 (14), 6-4, 6-2 on Monday. He will face countryman Janko Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals.
Djokovic fought off four set points in the tiebreaker against the 22nd-seeded Ukrainian. He finally clinched the set with a big serve.
Djokovic needed 76 minutes to win the first set and a combined 70 to take the last two.
Djokovic fell behind 0-4 in the tiebreaker but regained momentum when his shot ticked off the top of the net and over, and Dolgopolov’s backhand crosscourt volley landed just wide.
The 22-year-old Dolgopolov reached the quarterfinals at this year’s Australian Open.