Serbian Novak Djokovic (No. 1) defeated Argentinian Diego Schawtzman (No. 15) in three sets of 6-1, 6-3 and 6-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Dominating, Djokovic delivered this duel in 2 h 15 min by compiling impressive statistics.
In particular, he maintained a 74% rate for points recorded on his first service balls (compared to 56% for Schwatzman), while only getting 8 points over his opponent on his second serve.
Add in three aces against just one double fault and just 13 unforced errors throughout the game, and you have a pretty fair idea of what this one-sided showdown will look like.
In his 18th appearance at Roland-Garros, Djokovic is seeking his third coronation there after 2016 and 2021. He has also lost in four finals (2012, 2014, 2015, 2020). It has been quarter-finals every year since 2006 except 2009.
Djokovic had an appointment with his eternal rival Rafael Nadal (no. 5), who won the Parisian clay on 13 occasions and dropped to Félix Auger-Aliassime (no. 9) in five long sets in the fourth round.
Without appeal
As in the previous three rounds, he did not release the stunned Argentine in the third game. After saving two break points at 1-1, the world no. His opponent in the first round.
Freer in his head, Schwartzman straightened his level at the start of the second, taking the Serb service to a 3-0 lead before dropping the next six games.
Entering the clay-court season in uncertain form after his Australian soap opera ended with his incredible expulsion from the country, Djokovic has gained momentum in recent weeks with a semi-final in Madrid and then a new title in Rome.
Zverev is working hard
For his part, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who has been hooked in the past two rounds, will have to work again to oust Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata 7-6 (13/11), 7-5, 6-3, 131st worldwide.
After the first round in less than two hours, the German imposed a marathon of 3 h 36 min in the 2nd round by climbing two runs before knocking out Argentinian Sebastian Baez (36th) 2-6, 4- 6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5, without saving a match point.
And again in the next round, with three very tense sets against American Brandon Nakashima (75th) 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). Zverev had previously made 50 involuntary mistakes.
Opposite Zapata, John Isner’s scorer in the previous round, was even more (63). But with the help of his serving (5 aces) and a consecutive winning shot (34), the German finally lost in 2 h 45 min against a Zapata who was probably a bit dull in the consecutive that battles from the beginning. .
He’s kind of mad at me! He’s one of the fastest players I’ve seen on the circuit. He played the best tennis of his life. If he continues to play like this, I have no doubt that we will see him again very soon.Zverev greeted at the end of the match.
Still seeking his first grand slam title at age 25, Zverev will face off against the winner of the meeting between Carlos Alcaraz (6th in the world) and the Russian under the neutral banner, Karen Khachanov (25th ).
Source: Radio-Canada
