NEW YORK _ Enjoying a respite from recent shoulder pain, No. 1 men's seed Novak Djokovic won in straight sets for the third consecutive time by defeating American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. That put Djokovic in the fourth round against No. 23 Stan Wawrinka, who beat Djokovic in the 2016 U.S. Open final. "We had some great battles over the years, especially here," said Djokovic, who holds a 19-5 edge head-to-head.
Djokovic declined to specify when he injured his left shoulder. "I did a lot of things in the last few days to be able to play," said Djokovic, who had received extensive treatment during his second-round match but called it "almost pain-free" on Friday.
Wawrinka, who advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (9), 7-6 (4) victory over Paolo Lorenzi, often practices with Djokovic. "Is always difficult to play. There's something with him that when I get into my best game, I know that it's going to have some big rally, I'm going to play good tennis," Wawrinka said.
Daniil Medvedev of Russia was roundly booed at Louis Armstrong Stadium after he threw his racquet at the umpire, gave the middle finger to the crowd and snatched a towel from a ballboy's hands during his 7-6 (1), 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over Feliciano Lopez, but he credited fans' jeers for inspiring him. "Thank you, because your energy gave me the win tonight," he said. "I want all of you to know when you sleep tonight, I win because of you. The more you do this, the more I will win for you guys."
