Djokovic cruises into record 19th French Open quarter-final
Novak Djokovic secured his 100th win at the French Open as he beat Cameron Norrie (ALAIN JOCARD)
Novak Djokovic eased into a record-breaking 19th Roland Garros quarter-final with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Cameron Norrie on Monday.
The three-time French Open champion will renew his rivalry with third seed Alexander Zverev in the last eight on Wednesday after seeing off Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
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His tally of 19 quarter-final appearances at Roland Garros is the record for a single Grand Slam tournament.
"I feel good. I know I can play better. But 12 sets played, 12 sets won, it's been solid so far," said the 38-year-old after his 100th French Open win.
"It's great, but victory number 101 would be better. I'm very honoured... But I need to continue now."
Djokovic holds an 8-5 winning record in his head-to-head with German Zverev, but retired injured from their last meeting in the Australian Open semi-finals in January.
"He's 10 years younger. He calls himself a veteran of the game. What should I call myself, then?," Djokovic said of his next opponent.
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Britain's Norrie, a former top-10 player now ranked 81st, has lost all six of his career matches against Djokovic.
The sixth-seeded Djokovic showed no ill-effects from a "complicated" trip back to his hotel on Sunday night after attending Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League title celebrations at the Parc des Princes.
PSG forward Ousmane Dembele presented the trophy to the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier ahead of Djokovic's match.
"They (security) were suggesting us at one point not to go back at all, to maybe find a place to sleep somewhere around here for a night, because at that point it was already past midnight and some gas bombs and cars under fire and stuff happening on the street that was really dangerous," Djokovic said.
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"In the end we talked. We waited for a bit, and then we decided to go. Then it was fine. In the end we reached the hotel all good, but it was quite noisy with a lot of things happening outside of the hotel...
"At some point it was getting out of hand, but it's understandable that people are so excited."
The Serb, hoping to set a new outright record of 25 Grand Slam titles this week, dominated against Norrie from the start.
He broke serve three times in a one-sided opening set, before battling through a closer second, crucially saving a break point before holding for a 3-2 lead.
Norrie, playing in the second week in Paris for the first time, mustered little resistance in the third set as Djokovic wrapped up victory on his first match point.
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