Novak Djokovic admits he was ‘pleasantly surprised’ by what Cameron Norrie did during their US Open match

Add as preferred source on Google

Novak Djokovic continued his US Open crusade, recording an impressive four-set victory over Cameron Norrie on a floodlit Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It marked yet another impressive, relatively straightforward win for the Serbian, who did drop another set.

However, it does feel like momentum is building for the former world number one, who has seen so many seeds already fall from the draw.

An opportunity is opening up for Djokovic, who will hope that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner might also fall foul of this trend whilst he continues to steadily snag wins.

Focusing on last night’s match though, and his British opponent, he admitted that Norrie surprised him despite the routine nature of the victory.

Novak Djokovic explains why Cam Norrie surprised him

Speaking to reporters after the match, Djokovic sought to rate not only his own level, but that of his opponent’s too.

He began with the former, noting: “My playing was good. Particularly the third and fourth sets. I started swinging through the ball a bit more.”

Attention then turned to Norrie: “I was pleasantly surprised by Norrie’s level. He was playing really aggressive and I am not used to playing him with him playing so close to the line and him taking the ball so early, particularly on the forehand side, so credit to him for fighting and playing some really good level, particularly in the second set and beginning of the third. I guess when it mattered, I came out with some really good points, good shots and good serves.

“My serving performance was definitely the best so far. So these kinds of matches and performances always give me hope that I can go far and challenge the best players in the world.”

His final claim about his serve is particularly interesting given that, earlier this year, Norrie branded that area of Djokovic’s game ‘crazy’ and underrated.

Novak Djokovic’s head-to-head record vs next US Open opponent Jan-Lennard Struff

Djokovic’s task will now change rather dramatically, moving from a hard-working baseliner to the monstrous serving of Jan-Lennard Struff.

The German played remarkably well last night as he brushed aside Frances Tiafoe in straight sets, and will head into tomorrow’s match brimming with confidence.

That is, so long as he forgets about his head-to-head record with the 38-year-old, which currently stands at 7-0 in favour of Djokovic.

So many players have gone their entire careers without troubling this legendary individual, with Struff no different.

In fact, he has only ever taken one set off Djokovic across those seven meetings.

Both are in the twilight of their careers, yet continue to defy the odds. It will be interesting to see if Struff can manage the greatest upset in the coming days to continue his magical US Open run.