Top seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round of the US Open with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Nikolay Davydenko.
The world No1 took just over two hours to dispose of Davydenko, who missed three months of last season with a fractured wrist, with the Serb losing his serve to the unseeded Russian just once.
But despite Djokovic’s straight-sets win, he believes there is room for improvement ahead of his last-16 match against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
“I played well in the important moments and managed to make crucial breaks in all three sets,” said Djokovic. “He was playing very aggressively and I was aware of that before. I was very passive so I wasn’t really happy with the game.
“I didn’t feel great from the back of the court but I knew what to play and that’s what matters the most.”
The 24-year-old, runner-up in New York to Rafael Nadal a year ago, faces 22nd seed Dolgopolov after the Ukrainian overcame Ivo Karlovic 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4 6-4.
And Djokovic expects a difficult match against the 22-year-old. “He’s an up-and-coming player, he hits the ball really well, really hard,” Djokovic continued.
“He’s quite similar to Davydenko in that respect. I need to be focused from the first point.”