Top-seeded Novak Djokovic stayed perfect for 2020 and advanced to the fourth round of the US Open with a straight-sets win Friday in New York.
He beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 43 minutes, holding serve throughout. Struff managed only four break points and couldn’t convert.
Djokovic has won his past 29 matches and is 26-0 this season, making him a prohibitive favorite to get his fourth US Open title — he won it in 2011, 2015 and 2018. He’ll next play 20th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta.
Earlier Friday, Denis Shapovalov rallied late in the fourth set and won a five-set match between rising stars at the US Open.
The 21-year-old Canadian smashed his racket on the court — leaving it bent and spent — while falling behind 22-year-old American Taylor Fritz, who had a chance to serve it out leading 5-3 in the fourth set.
Shapovalov broke Fritz’s serve, won the tiebreaker and pulled out a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 win to reach the fourth round.
Alexander Zverev also reached the fourth round at the Open for the second year in a row, beating Adrian Mannarino in a match that was delayed because of health concerns.
Other men reaching the fourth round included No. 7 David Goffin, Jordan Thompson, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta
The Associated Press contributed to this report.