Novak Djokovic eases into last 16 with 99th French Open win, Coco Gauff goes through
Novak Djokovic eases into last 16 with 99th French Open win, Coco Gauff goes through
PARIS - Novak Djokovic notched his 99th career French Open win with a clinical 6-3 6-4 6-2 defeat of Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic to reach the fourth round on a memorable Saturday night in Paris.
As 40,000 fans watched Paris St Germain's Champions League final on video screens across the road at the Parc des Princes, the 38-year-old Serbian turned on the style on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Three-times champion Djokovic, bidding for a historic 25th Grand Slam title, was given a thorough workout at times by his 23-year-old opponent but more than matched Misolic's power and always looked in complete control.
Djokovic failed to convert nine break points early on but made the breakthrough for a 4-2 lead after showing incredible defensive skills to retrieve a barrage of smashes.
The Serb saved a break point at 1-2 in the second set and earned applause from the fans as he sportingly dusted his opponent down after Misolic tumbled over and got his sweat-soaked shirt coated in clay.
He soon showed his ruthless side, however, to break serve with a backhand winner as he raced into a two-set lead.
The sixth seed was in no mood for a late night as exploding fireworks and roars rang out from across the road and the third set followed the same pattern as he cruised through to a last-16 clash against Britain's Cameron Norrie.
Having won his 100th title in Geneva in the build-up to Roland Garros, Djokovic is yet to drop a set in three rounds and is looking in the mood for a deep run.
"I'm just hoping to carry on. Every time I step onto this court I'm playing for history," Djokovic, who showed no sign of the blisters that troubled him in the previous round, said.
Should Djokovic beat Norrie he will surpass his number of career wins at the Australian Open which he has won 10 times and will also maintain his record of reaching the quarter-finals or better at the French Open every year since 2010.
Earlier, second seed Coco Gauff booked her ticket to the last 16 with a straight-sets win over Czech Marie Bouzkova.
The 21-year-old won through 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) against the world number 47 and next plays Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 20th seed, who beat fellow Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-2.
Gauff – the 2022 Roland Garros runner-up – warmed up for Paris with runs to the finals of the clay court tournaments in Madrid and Rome.
The American held off Bouzkova, who had gotten the upper hand in their two previous clashes in Cincinatti in 2022 and Rome in 2023.
Having dominated the first set, the 2023 US Open champion trailed in the second set but managed to erase her break deficit, coming back from 5-3 down to 5-5 before winning the tiebreak comfortably. REUTERS, AFP
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