Taylor Townsend endured a painful exit from the 2025 US Open but found consolation in a simple exchange with her four-year-old son, AJ. The American’s run at Flushing Meadows ended in the fourth round when Barbora Krejcikova recovered from a set down to win 1-6, 7-6 (15-13), 6-3.

Townsend had been a prominent story at the hard-court Grand Slam, not only for her on-court form but for how she handled a tense confrontation earlier in the tournament with Jelena Ostapenko. The 2017 French Open winner, angry over an uncalled net cord, had told Townsend she had “no education” and “no class” after Townsend refused to apologise for the error. Townsend responded during their exchange and in the post-match press conference she said: “I didn’t back down because you’re not gonna insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect.

“And if I show respect to you, I expect respect as well.”

After that episode Townsend beat Ostapenko in straight sets, then followed up with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over fifth seed Mirra Andreeva. In the match against Krejcikova she led 6-1, 5-4 and had her first match point on the Czech’s serve but was unable to close it out. The contest went to a tie-break where another seven match points were missed before Krejcikova forced and then won the deciding set.

Despite the defeat, Townsend felt the tournament had changed how peers viewed her. “I don’t think that I’ve ever put on a performance like this. And even when I had gone deep in some tournaments or played well, it always was like, ‘oh, okay, she’s just on a run,’” she started off.

“And I think that, you know, you know, more than anything, I gained the respect of, you know, everyone in the tennis world, you know, and put a lot of my competitors on notice that the things that they were kind of like, ‘ooh, we think that she’s this type of player’.

“But I think I said it the other day. I really eliminated the but and gained quite a lot of respect in the tennis world, both from men and women. So that’s great, but I’m exactly where I need to be. It feels good.”

Her son watched the match at Louis Armstrong and offered encouragement afterwards. Townsend revealed his reaction: “I told AJ I was like, wow, you stayed there the whole time? It was over three hours,” she revealed. “And he said, sat there, and when I was talking to my coach when she was on the bathroom break, he was like, if you need anything, I got you just ask me. I’m like, ‘okay’. It’s nice to be able to have that.

“I was in the cool-down area. And he was like, ‘Hey, mom, let’s work out together’. And I’m like, ‘Sir, I just played three hours. I don’t want to work out’. He’s like, ‘let’s do some squats’. I’m like, ‘I’m good’.

“So, you know, that’s the kid thing, where it’s just like, they have no idea. And I actually said it because I wanted to know what he was going to say.

“I was like, ‘yeah’. He was like, ‘Good job mom’. I was like, ‘Thanks’. I was like, ‘AJ I lost’. He was like, ‘It’s okay’. And I was like, ‘That’s the attitude’. So I’m trying to embody that.”

Novak Djokovic added another entry to an already long list of Grand Slam milestones after a routine fourth-round win at the US Open moved him ahead of Roger Federer in a specific men’s singles record. The 24-time major champion defeated German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows to secure a ninth season in which he has reached the quarter-finals at all four Slams.

Djokovic and Federer had been level on eight seasons for that achievement. Djokovic previously completed the set in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021 and 2023; Federer’s run came from 2005 to 2012. In each of those eight seasons Djokovic won at least one Grand Slam, a pattern that underlines the significance of the statistic, although he is yet to claim a major since his 2023 US Open title.

At 38 years and 94 days, Djokovic also became the fourth-oldest man to reach the US Open quarter-finals, behind Pancho Gonzalez (40), Ken Rosewall (39) and Jimmy Connors (39). Reflecting on Connors’ 1991 run, Djokovic said: “I remember that [Connors 1991] run. I was very, very young, so I don’t vividly remember it when it was happening,” he explained. “But in the years to come when I was growing up watching a lot of tennis, everyone was talking about that run being one of the most historic runs we had in the sport at any Slam.

“Jimmy Connors being one of the greatest tennis players of all time, greatest legends in general overall globally, but particularly in this tournament. He’s won it five times? He’s fired up the New York crowd like no other player has done in his career.

“Just being in the same discussion or same conversation with Jimmy is obviously a huge honour of mine.”

Djokovic now prepares to face fourth seed Taylor Fritz in the quarter-final as he chases a record-extending 53 Grand Slam semi-final. He holds a 10-0 head-to-head advantage over Fritz, their most recent meeting coming in the semi-final of the 2024 Shanghai Masters, which Djokovic won in straight sets. By reaching this US Open quarter-final Djokovic will rise two places to return to No 5 in the ATP Rankings, with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Fritz ahead of him. A semi-final would move him past Fritz, while a title run would lift him to No 3.

Novak Djokovic moved into his record 64th Grand Slam quarterfinal after a straight-sets victory over qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. The 38-year-old, a 24-time major champion, appeared to be in control early but felt a twinge in his neck midway through the opening set.

Djokovic was up 4-0, 15-love when he hit an angled volley to make it 30-love and immediately grabbed the back of his neck, turning his head. He continued to stretch his neck and flex his right shoulder between points and dropped that game and the next before regaining command of the match.

Struff, the 144th-ranked qualifier who had beaten Frances Tiafoe in the previous round, was seeking his first major quarterfinal. Djokovic improved to 8-0 against Struff with the win.

After closing out the first set, Djokovic received treatment from a trainer during the changeover, including a massage to his neck and shoulder. He also had his right forearm massaged during the subsequent break. Earlier in the tournament, trainers had treated him for blisters on a foot in the first round and for a lower-back issue in the third.

Djokovic’s health issues did not visibly affect his play once points were in progress, and he finished the match without further incident. He now heads into a quarterfinal scheduled for Tuesday against 2024 US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz.

Fritz, the No. 4 seed and the last American man remaining in the draw, reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory Sunday over No. 21 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic. Djokovic will carry a 10-0 head-to-head record into that quarterfinal encounter.