Novak Djokovic breezes past Julien Benneteau to enter pre-quarters – US Open 2012
Second seed, Novak Djokovic, got the better of the French contender, Julien Benneteau, in straight sets at the Flushing Meadows 2012 on Sunday. He nudged up a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory against the world number 35 to book a spot in the fourth round at this final
of the four Grand Slam events taking place in Queens, New York City.
The defending champion displayed top notch performance to oust Benneteau in their sixth time at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Djokovic lost in their first clash at Indian Wells six years ago and after recording this victory, he improved
to a 6-1 lifetime in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series against the 31st seed.
Djokovic, who is coming off winning the Rogers Cup (dumping Richard Gasquet) and runner-up at the Western and Southern Open (lost to Roger Federer), stated in a post match press conference:
"I have been playing really well at the US Open the past five years. My goal was, in these seven, eight days I had off after the Cincinnati final, to really try to recover, charge my batteries, work on some things in my game, and come out strong from the
start. That's what I've done. I feel great on the court. I'm really trying to keep that up."
Ranked top in the world, Djokovic assertively entered the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He easily plucked his opening serve to take the initial lead. The Serb then continued hitting precise shots down the line to bag his remaining serves. He got the breakthrough
in the sixth game and clinched the opener with a 6-3 score line.
The Serbian number one maintained his intensity in the follow-up set. He got the coveted break in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. Djokovic smoothly pocketed his entire serves without facing any breakpoint and broke Benneteau’s serve again to click
the set with a 6-2 win.
The 25-year-old kept momentum rolling in the third set. After the veteran held his serve in the third game, Djokovic unleashed flurry of groundstrokes to reel off last five games. He swiped his entire serves without facing any barrier and cashed in both
break chances to earn the glory.
Up next for the Serb is the 18th seed, Stanislas Wawrinka from Switzerland. The Swiss number two upset the Ukrainian number one, Alexandr Dolgopolov, in straight sets to set up this meeting.
Tags: