The Second Bronze Age of Novak Djokovic

After a thrilling four-set win over Taylor Fritz at the U.S. Open, Djokovic shines anew in a familiar role.

NEW YORK — This U.S. Open hit a definite doldrums around its midway point, as match after match failed to deliver on hopes and expectations to begin the tournament’s second week.

All seven singles matches on Ashe and Armstrong on Monday ended in straight sets, with many of those sets wildly lopsided; Alexander Bublik’s 81-minute “effort” in 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 a loss to Jannik Sinner, a blowout which had genuinely been an eagerly anticipated match, seemed to take the most wind out of this tournament’s sails.

Tuesday didn’t start much better, enhancing a distinct sense of disappointment and tedium around the grounds. Jessica Pegula and Carlos Alcaraz both rolled to straight set victories; the top-seeded women’s doubles team of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova also snuffed out the Cinderella run of Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez to the tune of 6-1, 6-2.

Perhaps worst of all, after such a scintillating performance in her fourth round win over Elena Rybakina, Marketa Vondrousova withdrew from her highly-anticipated quarterfinal against Aryna Sabalenka a few hours before it began, giving the defending champion a walkover into the semifinals and shrinking the night session down to one match.

So, Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic had a heavy task in front of them once they finally got on court to end Tuesday’s slate: they had to power this stalled freighter ship of an event back into motion. And after nearly three-and-a-half hours of battling atmospheric inertia, they got this U.S. Open moving once more—ending with the unsinkable 38-year-old captain sailing onward once more, confirming his round-trip voyage back to the second bronze age of Novak Djokovic.

To read all about Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz’s thrilling four-setter, and how Djokovic is positioned in his fourth major semifinal of the year, please do subscribe to Bounces! -Ben