Top seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek surged closer towards a US Open showdown with Coco Gauff on Friday as 23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic targeted a place in the last 16.

Swiatek briefly put sentiment to one side as she demolished 145th-ranked Slovenian qualifier and best friend Kaja Juvan 6-0, 6-1 in just 49 minutes to storm into the fourth round.

“I didn’t like the fact that I was kind of winning with my best friend,” said world number one Swiatek. “It was like playing against a sister because I’ve known her for so long."

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