By Shrivathsa Sridhar
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Novak Djokovic continued his hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title on Friday by quickly recovering from a lower back problem to beat unseeded Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-7(4) 6-2 6-3 and reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
Djokovic heaped the pressure on Norrie and broke for a 4-3 lead with a forehand winner before firing his ninth ace of the contest in the following game to consolidate his advantage.
The 38-year-old began to feel the effects of a back
issue after going up 5-4 and received treatment off the court before returning to serve out the opening set.
Djokovic called for more medical attention three games into the next set and his first-serve speed briefly dipped following that break in play.
However, he started to fire on all cylinders again and went toe-to-toe with Norrie, who had to fight back from a two-point deficit early in the tiebreak to go level in the match.
A sublime drop shot helped Norrie break in the opening game of the third set but Djokovic struck back to win three straight games, pausing along the way to bark at someone in the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands to stay quiet.
Djokovic continued to reassert himself from there, closing out the set comfortably and fully hitting his stride in the fourth to maintain his 100% record against Norrie and book a meeting with Jan-Lennard Struff.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
