World number one Novak Djokovic cruised into the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Western & Southern Open on Wednesday while Japan’s Naom...
World number one Novak Djokovic cruised into the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Western & Southern Open on Wednesday while Japan’s Naomi Osaka withdrew to protest the shooting of a black man by police in Wisconsin.
Later, organisers said the tournament will be suspended until Friday following sporting boycotts sparked by the police shooting of a black man in Wisconsin. In a statement that came just hours after star singles player Naomi Osaka withdrew from her scheduled semi-final, organizers said all games set for Thursday would be postponed.
Black Lives Matter: NBA walkout sparks historic sport boycott in US; Osaka withdraws, tennis halted
Djokovic, who launches his bid for a fourth US Open title and 18th Grand Slam crown on Monday, needed only 62 minutes to rout Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1.
The 33-year-old Serbian, who seeks a fourth US Open title and 18th Grand Slam crown, advanced to a Thursday semi-final against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, who upset defending champion Daniil Medvedev, last year’s US Open runner-up from Russia, by 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Djokovic had no issues with a prior neck injury, testing himself well on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts in the same spectator-less Covid-19 bubble quarantine atmosphere where the US Open will be played.
“It was great. I feel very...
