NEW YORK — While Novak Djokovic’s path to the US Open final once appeared strewn with obstacles and tough opponents, it now looks like a free and open highway.
His lucky ride continued Tuesday night when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired with left knee pain after dropping the first two sets to Djokovic in a quarterfinal match under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That followed a second-round walkover thanks to Jiri Vesely and a third-round, first-set retirement by Mikhail Youzhny.
In total, No. 1 Djokovic has only had to play five complete sets through five matches heading into Friday’s semifinal matchup with No. 1 Gael Monfils of France. Assuming Monfils doesn’t retire during the match, too, Djokovic will have completed one full match in the last 11 days.
“I put myself in a position again to be one match away from the finals,” said Djokovic, who won the Open in 2011 and ’15 and is seeking his 13th career Grand Slam crown. “As [the] tournament progresses, I feel like I’m getting better. Of course this Grand Slam is very unique for me. I never experienced something like this to have three retirements on the road to the semifinals.
Click here for the full story on Metro.
