The top favorites Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are still on course for the dream semifinals at the French Open.
Serbian Djokovic defeated Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7: 6 (7: 4), 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 2 on Friday and reached the round of 16 in Paris for the 14th time in a row. Also in three sets, the top seeded Spaniard Alcaraz prevailed 6:1, 6:4, 6:2 against the Canadian Denis Shapovalov in his game of the third round. The 20-year-old US Open winner is now dealing with the strong Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic and Alcaraz could meet in the semifinals. Of the title contenders, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas also made it into the round of 16 with 6: 2, 6: 2, 6: 3 against Diego Schwartzman from Argentina.
Djokovic took the next step towards the sole Grand Slam title record he was aiming for with some difficulty. The third in the world rankings had to survive several difficult moments in the first two rounds and gave up his own serve five times. In the tie-breaks, however, he showed nerves of steel and, after 3:36 hours, remained in the tournament without losing a set.
Djokovic messes with the audience
At times Djokovic messed with the Paris audience on the Philippe-Chatrier court. When some spectators booed the Serb’s break in treatment after winning the second set, he waved his hand at them to continue, clapped maliciously and gave a thumbs-up.
“99 percent of the time I stay calm. Sometimes I stand up to that, if I think someone is being disrespectful, then he or she deserves an answer to that,” said Djokovic, characterizing his relationship with the Paris crowd as “ebb and flow “. After winning the match, the jubilation clearly outweighed the jubilation.
In the absence of the injured defending champion Rafael Nadal, Djokovic wants to make his 23rd triumph in a Grand Slam tournament perfect. He currently shares the men’s record with the Spaniard.