Djokovic's French Open match interrupted by cheers for PSG's Champions League win
Novak Djokovic has reached the fourth round of the French Open for the 16th consecutive year with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over qualifier Filip Misolic in a match marked by noise from Paris Saint-Germain fans cheering as they watched the Champions League final on their phones.
There were also frequent sounds of fireworks popping from PSG's stadium, which is just a few blocks from Court Philippe-Chatrier. The French club won its first championship in the top soccer competition for European clubs, beating Italy's Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich, Germany.
Djokovic originally was hoping to avoid playing at the same time as the match so he could watch it on TV.
"It was interesting. The crowd was really following the game. And I could hear when they scored. It was way too many times that they were celebrating," Djokovic said about the spectators in the Chatrier stands.
"I was like, 'wow, this is a lot of goals from Paris! What's going on?' Now I heard it's 5-0. Quite a result, to be honest."
During one lengthy tennis point in the third set, some shouts accompanied PSG's fourth goal, and afterward, the chair umpire asked spectators to keep it down, drawing boos and whistles in response.
"Night sessions are always different. They're always louder. The people are always more excited. Everything is always loud and different from a day session," said Djokovic, who has won all nine sets he has played so far in this year's tournament.
"I knew I was going to have to be scheduled once to play at night. And it's OK. It's fine. I mean, I would be watching football, for sure. … [PSG] won it for the first time, so I don't know how we're all going to go back to our hotels.
"It's going to be quite a journey. Quite an adventure. But I think we are in for a long celebration and probably not much sleep tonight. It's a fun night to be in Paris, I guess."
Djokovic has never lost to anyone ranked as low as No.153 Misolic at a grand slam tournament, and this one was never really in doubt. There was just a slight delay for him to take control.
In the second game, with Misolic serving, Djokovic held seven break points — and failed to convert any.
That made it 1-all. But Djokovic kept accumulating break chances and, eventually, cashed in on his 10th, to lead 4-2. That was essentially that.
Against a man 15 years his junior, who was appearing in only his second grand slam tournament, the 38-year-old Djokovic made only 14 unforced errors — compared to 33 winners — and saved the only break point he faced.
"Solid when I needed to be," Djokovic said.
"There's always something to improve. Something to get better at. But overall, I have to be pleased with the level of tennis so far."
He improved his career record at the French Open to 99-16, equalling his number of match wins at the Australian Open.
He has won three of his 24 major championships in Paris. A year ago in a fourth-round victory, Djokovic tore his the meniscus in his right knee and needed to withdraw from the tournament before his next match.
This time, Djokovic will try to reach the quarterfinals by beating Cam Norrie on Monday.
Djokovic is 5-0 against Norrie, including a win at the Geneva Open the week before the French Open en route to the Serb's 100th career trophy.
"He's a big fighter. He's a grinder," said Djokovic, who beat Norrie in the 2022 Wimbledon semifinals.
"Cameron is known for that on the tour."
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She was made to work harder by her 13th-seeded Ukrainian rival in the second , dropping her serve in the fourth game after hitting two straight unforced errors into the net. But Swiatek broke back immediately and took advantage of a poor service game by Svitolina – watched by her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils – to break again with a thunderous forehand return and move 6-5 ahead. Swiatek sealed the win with a final ace. Swiatek has won five of the six matches she's played on clay against Sabalenka, including a thrilling three-setter in Spain last year. "The Madrid final against her is one of the best and most exciting finals that I have played," said Swiatek, who has not won a title or reached a final since her victory at Roland Garros last year. "It is always a challenge against Aryna.". Sabalenka is trying to reach her sixth grand slam final, and first at Roland Garros. "I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win," Sabalenka said. Sabalenka overcame a shaky start and windy conditions to prevail against Zheng 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 and extend her record against the Chinese to 7-1. The score did not fully reflect the closeness of the match but Sabalenka demonstrated why she is No.1 seed, making the difference on big points, while Zheng struggled with her serve in tense moments." Sabalenka had lost her most recent match against Zheng last month in Rome, having dominated their first six encounters. She said that loss was actually a good thing in the middle of an already exhausting season. "I was actually glad I lost that match, because I needed a little break before Roland Garros," Sabalenka said. "Today, I was just more fresh. I was ready to battle, I was ready to leave everything I had on court to get this win." Sabalenka, a three-time grand slam champion, has yet to drop a set in Paris. The second semi-final will be decided on Wednesday with Coco Gauff taking on fellow American Madison Keys and Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva facing the French Open surprise package, world No.361 Lois Boisson. With AP
