Novak Djokovic who is coming off a bad injury is still optimistic that his game is going in the right direction. This optimism was proved by him in his 4th round match against Go Soeda of Japan as he defeated him by 6-3 and 7-5 in only 95 minutes to make it to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open.
The world rank no. 1 Djokovic is trying to win the title of the tournament for the 10th time as he struck 10 aces.
During the 4th round match of the US Open between Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, Djokovic had to retire following his shoulder injury but at Tokyo, he showed no sign of hindrance.
His first appearance was at the doubles match of the Japan Open where he got beaten alongside Filip Krajinovic.
Djokovic said, “I played on an even higher level as compared to the 1st round. So I think my game is going in the right direction. I have now played 3 games in a row so everything is really fine.”
In other matches of the day, Yasutaka Uchiyama defeated Radu Albot by 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 while Reilly Opelka defeated Gilles Simon by 7-6 and 7-6.
As for the 3rd seeded player from Belgium, David Goffin, he was able to cruise into the quarterfinals as well following his Thursday win against Denis Shapovalov by 7-6 and 7-6.
Goffin is the only paler to be the champion in the draw right now. He lost back in 2016 against Nick Kyrgios before winning the title back in 2017 against Adrian Mannarino.
Goffin said, “I am really glad that the Olympics will be held here as this is a city that I like. I am sure that the humidity and heat of the July and August will make it hard here but I still like the conditions here. I have some good wins in my past here. So, who knows, maybe I will be able to get some good wins next year as well.”
Goffin will next be facing Hyeon Chung in the quarterfinals who earlier defeat Marin Cilic by 6-4, 3-6 and 6-1.
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