Novak Djokovic was cruising along with a big early lead in his US Open 2025 fourth-round clash on Sunday night against Jan-Lennard Struff, only to be slowed briefly when discomfort in his neck flared up, sparking another injury concern.
Djokovic was leading by 4-0, 15-love when he hit a nicely angled volley winner to go up 30-love in that game. But he was seen grabbing the back his neck and started turning his head, showing sign of deep discomfort.
The 38-year-old kept trying to stretch his neck or flex his right shoulder between points, and he went on to drop that game and the next one, too.
After Djokovic finished off that opening set against Struff, he was visited by a trainer for treatment during the ensuing changeover. Djokovic was given a massage to his neck and shoulder.
If he was still in discomfort, his play wasn’t really affected at all. During the break after that set, Djokovic had his right forearm massaged. But again, there were no signs of trouble when the ball was in play.
Djokovic beats Struff in straight sets
However, he soon regained the upper hand against 144th-ranked qualifier Struff, who beat Frances Tiafoe in the previous round and was trying to get to a major quarterfinal for the first time. Later, Djokovic won the match with 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his record 64th Grand Slam quarterfinal.
After the match, Djokovic said, “It definitely helps if you serve well. I think I had a great serving performance last round and also tonight.”
“That helps make it easier on the court.”
After improving to 8-0 against Struff, Djokovic now carries a 10-0 head-to-head record into his quarterfinal on Tuesday against 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz.
The No. 4-seeded Fritz, the last American man in the bracket, moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory Sunday against No. 21 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.
Djokovic has won all 10 matches with Fritz including a straight-sets victory in the quarter-finals two years ago when the Serbian star captured his most recent major.
He’s won four championships in New York, most recently in 2023.
