Djokovic got into the round of 16 in Paris with strong nerves

In the third round of the classic clay court, the 36-year-old Serb defeated the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7: 6(4), 7: 6(5), 6: 2 and reached the round of 16 in Paris for the 14th time in a row.

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 once again showed nerves of steel and, after 3:36 hours, remained in the course of the tournament without losing a set. In the round of the top 16, Djokovic meets the winner of the match between Juan Pablo Varillas from Peru and Hubert Hurkacz from Poland.

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. After winning the match, the cheers from the audience clearly outweighed the crowd.

“99 percent of the time I stay calm. Sometimes I stand up against 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 “.

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.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Andrei Rublev failed as the next prominent seeded player. The seventh in the world rankings lost against Italian Lorenzo Sonego 7:5,6:0,3:6,6:7(5),3:6 despite a 2-0 set lead. Rublev recently won the Monte Carlo Masters tournament on clay.

Before the 25-year-old, his compatriot Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner from Italy and Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime had already left the first ten players on the seeding list at the French Open. The unseeded Sonego now has to deal with the Russian Karen Khachanov in the round of 16, who defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis from Australia in four sets.

For women, Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus is in the round of 16 of the French Open for the first time. The number two in the world rankings defeated the Russian Kamilla Rakhimova 6:2,6:2. The Australian Open winner is next to the top seeded Pole Iga Swiatek the biggest contender for the title, after the game she caused a stir by skipping the press conference. The American Jessica Pegula, who was seeded number three, was eliminated.

Third in the world rankings Pegula lost to Belgian Elise Mertens (No. 28) 1:6.3:6. With the 29-year-old, the fourth player in the top ten has already been eliminated. Pegula is still waiting for a semi-final in one of the four Grand Slam tournaments