Roberta Vinci moves on in 3 sets at US Open

Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the last 16 in just 32 minutes on Friday when Russian opponent Mikhail Youzhny retired at 2-4 down in the first set at the US Open on Friday.

The outcome completed a freakish first week for world number one Djokovic who was also champion in NY in 2011.

Djokovic did not play at all on Wednesday, when the man he was supposed to face in the second round, Jiri Vesely, withdrew from the tournament a couple of hours before that match because of inflammation in his left forearm.

The world number one last came through a full match on Monday and he will have enjoyed nearly five days rest before facing either Britain’s Kyle Edmund or American John Isner in the last 16.

“Obviously, I wish Mischa a speedy recovery”, Djokovic said in an on-court interview in Ashe. I think he carried the injury into this match, that’s what he said.

The brief encounter for Djokovic had been preceded on Arthur Ashe Stadium by women’s eighth seed Madison Keys pulling off an epic comeback to beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Despite his academic skills, Youzhny will start as the underdog against Djokovic against whom he has a 3-6 losing record with his last win coming six years ago.

WOZNIACKI’S RESURGENCE: The best results of former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki’s career came at the U.S. Open, where she was the runner-up to Kim Clijsters in 2009 and to Williams in 2014.

Marin Cilic, of Croatia, reacts after a shot to Rogerio Dutra Silva, of Brazil, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, in NY.

Elsewhere, the tussle for last-16 spots sees 2014 champion Marin Cilic facing America’s Jack Sock.

Sock will next play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who beat Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-4 7-6.

The Dane’s 6-3, 6-1 victory featured eight breaks of serve.

The seventh-seeded Italian needed almost two hours to top 102nd-ranked Carina Witthoeft 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 in the third round Friday. Riske had two points on her serve at 5-4 in a second-set tiebreaker to try to close out the match. Since completing his career Grand Slam at the French Open in June, he lost in the third round at Wimbledon, won the Toronto Masters, was upset in the first round of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics by Juan Martin del Potro, then missed the Cincinnati Masters because of a sore left wrist. Fortunately for her, newly-married Cibulkova hit 54. He also dropped a set in an opening-round Grand Slam match for the first time since 2010. World number 48 Sevastova, who briefly retired in 2013, has matched her best run at a Slam and next faces British 13th seed Johanna Konta who put out Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1.

Two-time US Open champion Rafael Nadalof Spain plays Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov in the third round later on Friday.