Djokovic sends Fish reeling

Djokovic: Outclassed Fish

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Third seed Novak Djokovic breezed into the quarter-finals of the US Open after a commanding 6-3 6-4 6-1 win over Mardy Fish.

The Serbian signalled his intentions by breaking Fish in the American's first two service games to set him on course to take the first set.

He struck again in the in the fifth game of the second with another break before holding firm on serve to move into a two-set lead which he was never in danger of relinquishing.

The third set was even more emphatic, with Fish being broken three times as the 2008 Australian Open champion eased across the finish line on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I was serving well and using the court well and overall I am very happy with the way I played," Djokovic said after the match.

"It gives me a lot of confidence. It's great to raise the level of performance towards the end of the tournament. It's been a great couple of years for me in New York (runner-up in 2007, semi-finalist the last two years), so hopefully I can go on."

Monfils showdown

Djokovic will face Gael Monfils next as the 17th seed secured a spot in the last eight after seeing off fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4 7-5 7-5.

Monfils recorded 14 aces and 40 winners as his trademark power and athleticism proved too much for his compatriot.

A Gasquet double fault handed Monfils the only break of the first set in just the third game and the former Wimbledon semi-finalist would not recover from there.

Gasquet did manage to secure a break in the second set, moving into a 4-2 lead before being pegged back by his opponent, who had earlier squandered six break-point chances.

But after he had held to move to the brink of levelling the contest, Monfils stormed back with a run of five consecutive games to claim the second set.

After another closely-fought set, Monfils closed out the victory in two hours and 35 minutes to send his friend crashing out of the tournament.

Monfils said: "For me it's amazing to be in front of the American crowd in the quarters. I feel really comfortable here, maybe (enough) to win here one day."