Novak Djokovic of Serbia stomps on his racket during his match against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during the US Open fourth round match in New York. (AFP)

Agencies/New York


Novak Djokovic tipped his hat to Serena and Venus Williams ahead of their 27th career meeting but admitted on Sunday he would find it impossible to play his own brother.
The world number one has two tennis-playing younger brothers — 24-year-old Marko and Djorde, who’s 20. Both play on the sport’s lower-level tours, which suits Djokovic just fine.
That’s a luxury which neither Serena nor Venus can afford and they clash again today for a place in the US Open semi-finals with Serena chasing a calendar Grand Slam. “The first thing that comes to my mind is how would I feel to play my brother, and I don’t think that would be possible, honestly,” said Djokovic after reaching his 26th Grand Slam quarter-final Sunday in New York.
“In a way I admire what they’re doing for so many years to play against each other on such a big stage. It’s strange. They are sisters. They live together. They grew up together playing tennis. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to play my brother. It’s not possible. I would not be able to handle it on the court.”
Top seed Djokovic was made to work hard by Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut before he posted a 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-3 win at the US Open on Sunday, moving him into his 26th consecutive grand slam quarter-final.
After Djokovic won an opening-set groundstroke battle with steady accuracy and well chosen forays to the net, Bautista Agut used his big forehand to come back from 4-2 down in the second and win the next four games to level the match.
The world number one smashed his racquet after losing the second set but made better use of its replacement, winning the third following a service break in the fifth game, before raising his performances in the fourth set to claim victory.
“I was upset with myself,” said Djokovic. “But I managed to regroup. The important thing is that I managed to find a way to win.”
The Spaniard unleashed 34 winners, including 22 from the forehand, but came up short in a quest to reach his first grand slam quarter-final. “I wanted to play a fifth (set),” the 23rd-ranked Bautista Agut said. “I think I played great tennis and I enjoyed it on the court. I think sometimes I felt he was not comfortable on the court. I was moving him a lot and that’s what I wanted before the match.”
Djokovic commended him on his play. “Credit to him for fighting, for making me work,” said the Serb, winner of this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. “It was a very physical match. He made me work for every point.”
Djokovic will meet Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, who beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3 7-6(5) 6-1, in the quarter-finals. Only Jimmy Connors (27) and Roger Federer (36) have registered more consecutive grand slam quarter-final appearances  in the Open era than Djokovic.
“I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been able to achieve so much in my career so far and to be able to play my best in the grand slams, which I was always aiming for,” the nine-times grand slam winner said. “I’m always trying to set up my form, shape, for these events. This is where I want to peak.”