Italian Open: Novak Djokovic reaches quarterfinals for 17th straight year

Novak Djokovic was in command from the start and never really let up in a 63 64 win over 13thseeded Cameron Norrie on Tuesday to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals for the 17th straight yearAiming for his seventh title on the red clay of the Foro Italico Djokovic had his entire game clicking after struggling at times in the previous roundsOn an overcast day after it had rained all morning Djokovic appeared focused from the startI actually finished my warmup 10 minutes before I went on the court So I was rushing a bit with everything but we couldnt warm up earlier because of the rain Djokovic said So Im just glad to overcome todays challenge in straight sets and move onAlso Djokovic was seen in the trainers room before the match He recently took three weeks off because of a lingering issue with his surgically repaired right elbowEvery day is something the 35yearold Djokovic said without specifying what was bothering him But thankfully I was able to play and finish the match so hopefully tomorrow it will feel a bit betterEarly in the second set after the players traded breaks to make it 22 Djokovic appeared furious with NorrieDjokovic had already turned with his back to the net in the center of the court to concede a break point when Norries overhead smash hit him in the body Djokovic then turned around and glared at Norrie who had already raised his hand to apologizeThen after Djokovic broke for a 54 lead in the second and was preparing to serve out the match Norrie asked for a medical timeout and had his side treated on court by a trainerDjokovic committed less half as many unforced errors as Norrie 1429 and had two more winners 2119Norrie won a title on clay in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year beating Carlos Alcaraz in the finalDjokovic will lose the No 1 ranking to Alcaraz after this tournament even though Alcaraz was beaten by 135thranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the third round on MondayAlcaraz will therefore be seeded No 1 and Djokovic will be No 2 at the French Open which starts in 12 daysAlso Read World No 1 Alcaraz bows out of Italian Open ends 12match winning streakDjokovic will next face either seventhseeded Holger Rune or Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin who were playing on the GrandstandLater local hope Jannik Sinner was to play Francisco Cerundolo in the same half of the draw as DjokovicIn womens action later on Campo Centrale twotime defending Rome champion Iga Swiatek was scheduled to play Donna VekicThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever