The Serbian beats the Peruvian 6-3 6-2 6-2 in what was little more than a training session: for him now the challenge to Khachanov, sixteenth quarterfinal at Roland Garros. He is chasing semifinal number 14 in his career…
Novak Djokovic has never been inclined to let his rivals’ fairy tales continue, often destroying the dreams of those who hoped to beat him to give themselves a day of glory. The good Juan Pablo Varillas was no exception, a 27-year-old Peruvian, number 94 in the world, who for the first time faced a second week of the slam. The last tennis player from his country to reach the round of 16 in a Grand Slam tournament was Jaime Yzaga, who in 1994 pushed himself to the round of 16 in Paris and up to the quarterfinals at the US Open. The last Peruvian to push himself to the third round in Paris was Luis Horna in 2005.
the match
—
Varillas, who the Italians know for beating our Lorenzo Musetti in Buenos Aires this year, gave it his all, but in the end a pat on the back, a handshake and a 6-3 6-2 6-2 which for Djokovic meant more training than anything else. Predictable: even without being the deadly Nole on earth that we have known in his career, the difference between the two was really too much and at this level not even miracles are enough. For Varillas an excellent tournament and the satisfaction of having beaten the number 14 in the world Hubert Hurkacz, while for Djokovic now things are starting to get serious. A few numbers, meanwhile, which in the case of the Serbian are always extraordinary: sixteenth quarterfinal at Roland Garros, the 55th in his career, for the fourteenth consecutive year he is at least in the quarterfinals on Parisian clay and will seek, against Karen Khachanov, his 14th semifinal in red slam. If these numbers aren’t impressive… Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Austrian Ofner were on the field later.