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<p>NEW YORK &#8212; Facing much more resistance from the 90-degree heat and 50-percent humidity than from his outclassed opponent, Novak Djokovic figured he can count on cooler conditions during a night match at the U.S. Open his next time out.</p><p>The next foe? That could be Roger Federer.</p><p>Djokovic left the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium for a medical timeout &#8212; the second time during the tournament he&#8217;s sought help from a doctor because of harsh weather &#8212; during what would become an otherwise straightforward 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 68th-ranked Joao Sousa of Portugal on Monday in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not 21 anymore. That was 10 years ago. I still don&#8217;t feel old. But at the same time, there is a little biological clock that is not really working in your favor,&#8221; the No. 6-seeded Djokovic told the crowd afterward. &#8220;Sometimes, you just have to survive.&#8221;</p><p>He reached the quarterfinals for an 11th consecutive appearance in New York as he bids for a third U.S. Open championship and 14th Grand Slam trophy. To add to his resume, though, he might need to beat Federer, who has won five of his men&#8217;s-record 20 major titles at Flushing Meadows.</p><p>The other quarterfinal on the bottom half of the draw will be a rematch of the 2014 U.S. Open final: No. 7 Marin Cilic against No. 21 Kei Nishikori. Cilic, who beat Nishikori four years ago for his only major title, was a 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 winner against No. 10 David Goffin, while Nishikori advanced by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.</p><p>Both Nishikori and Djokovic missed last year&#8217;s U.S. Open with arm injuries.</p><p>Asked Monday whether he thought during that time away about returning to the height of his powers, Djokovic replied: &#8220;I have imagined. I have hoped for. I have prayed for that.&#8221;</p><p>He improved to 28-0 at the U.S. Open against opponents ranked outside the top 50, and here&#8217;s another reason it wasn&#8217;t all that surprising the way things went against Sousa: Djokovic is now 5-0 in their head-to-head series, taking all 14 sets they&#8217;ve played against each other.</p><p>The heat, though, is much tougher on Djokovic, who showed the same blank expression, rosy cheeks and sweat-soaked shirt as during his first-round match last week. That was the first time in tournament history that the U.S. Open created an extreme heat policy for men&#8217;s matches &#8212; players can opt for a 10-minute break between the third and fourth sets &#8212; similar to what&#8217;s standard on the women&#8217;s tour, when there can be a delay between the second and third sets.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not easy,&#8221; Djokovic said, &#8220;to play in these kind of conditions.&#8221;</p><p>His match didn&#8217;t get to the point of a heat interruption, because he wrapped it up in straight sets, but that did come into play for a couple of women&#8217;s matches.</p><p>It was most striking during Lesia Tsurenko&#8217;s 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 win against Marketa Vondrousova, in which both players seemed affected by the temperature and mugginess.</p><p>Tsurenko left the court for a health check after the first set and often leaned on her racket between points, saying later she felt dizzy at the Grandstand court, which doesn&#8217;t offer shade the way the tournament&#8217;s two bigger arenas do.</p><p>Vondrousova wasn&#8217;t all that sure Tsurenko had issues.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think she was struggling so much,&#8221; Vondrousova said. &#8220;She was just acting.&#8221;</p><p>The 19-year-old Vondrousova, who said she dealt with cramping, certainly helped decide the outcome: Of Tsurenko&#8217;s 107 points, only 17 came via winners; 73 were her opponent&#8217;s unforced errors.</p><p>Also into the quarterfinals: 2017 runner-up Madison Keys of the U.S. and No. 20 Naomi Osaka of Japan. Osaka beat No. 26 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to earn her first trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 20-year-old Osaka was already the first Japanese woman to get to the fourth round in New York since 2004.</p><p>Keys overwhelmed No. 29 Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-3 thanks to a 25-7 edge in winners and now will face No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. Suarez Navarro became the first player to beat five-time major champion Maria Sharapova in a U.S. Open night match, eliminating her 6-4, 6-3.</p><p>Sharapova won the 2006 title in New York, but she&#8217;s now lost in the fourth round in her past three appearances.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, returns a shot to Joao Sousa, of Portugal, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/web1_AP18246738696846.jpg</photo0><caption0>Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, returns a shot to Joao Sousa, of Portugal, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Howard Fendrich</p><p>AP Tennis Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Novak Djokovic gets through on hot day at U.S. Open