French Open, 3rd round: Djokovic wins with difficulty, Rublew fails

Grand-Slam-Record winner Novak Djokovic on Friday (June 2nd, 2023) at the French Open also cleared the next hurdle and is in the round of 16 in Paris.

Djokovic had to fight for a long time against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, but in the end he won 7: 6 (7: 4), 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 2. “I knew it was going to be difficult and very physical. He’s a fantastic player, a fantastic fighter who has few weaknesses. It was a great match.”said Djokovic, who only converted the match point after 3:36 hours.

Djokovic is still aiming for the third title in Roland Garros after 2016 and 2021 and wants to become the sole record holder with 23 Grand Slam successes in the absence of his permanent rival Rafael Nadal. His main competitor to win the tournament, the Spanish world number one Carlos Alcaraz, is fighting for a place in the round of 16 late on Friday evening.

Djokovic causes boos

At times Djokovic lay down with the Parisian audience Court Philippe Chatrier at. 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 resist that if I think someone is being disrespectful, then he or she deserves a response‘ said Djokovic, characterizing his relationship with the Paris crowd as ‘Back and forth“. After winning the match, the jubilation clearly outweighed it again.

Alcaraz in the round of 16 too

Later in the evening, his big competitor Carlos Alcaraz was also able to celebrate. Alcaraz defeated the Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6: 1, 6: 4, 6: 2 and was then happy about his strong performance: “I felt good and played at a good level for most of the game. My dream is always to win the tournament.” Alcaraz made short work of Shapovalov. Even a short period of weakness in the 20-year-old was unable to make decisive use of his overwhelmed opponent from Canada. The Spaniard meets Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16.

Surprise: Rublev failed

The next surprise had previously occurred in Paris when Andrei Rublev, who was seventh in the world rankings, retired in the third round. The 25-year-old Russian was beaten by Italian Lorenzo Sonego 7: 5, 6: 0, 3: 6, 6: 7 (5: 7), 3: 6 after a hard-fought match.

“It’s a special moment for me“Said Sonego, who meets Karen Khachanov (No. 11) in the round of 16: “I played every point with the right attitude.“

After his title at the ATP Masters in Monte Carlo, Rublew was one of the extended favorites in Roland Garros, but had already had problems with his game at the start. After Daniil Medvedev (No. 2), Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 10) and Jannik Sinner (No. 8), he is the fourth top ten player to be eliminated from the tournament before the round of 16. Sinner surprisingly failed on Thursday after almost five and a half hours at Kempen’s Daniel Altmaier.

Co-favorite Sabalenka effortlessly in the round of 16

Aryna Sabalenka easily reached the round of 16 in the women’s category. Sabalenka, second seeded in Paris, beat Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 6-2 in just 67 minutes to easily advance to the last 16.

The Belarusian co-favourite, after her easy victory, refused to take part in the obligatory press conference. “I know that I also have to give the media answers if it’s not about my tennis or my matches”said Sabalenka, “but last Wednesday I didn’t feel safe at the press conference.” For the sake of her mental health, she decided to “to get out of this situation”, explained Sabalenka further. On Friday she only spoke to a few selected journalists, the procedure was coordinated with the organizers.

Mertens surprises Pagula

In the first match of the day on the Court Chatrier there had been a surprise: The American Jessica Pegula, who was in third place and who was in the quarterfinals last year, failed in the third round of the clay courtGrand-Slams with 1: 6, 3: 6 to Elise Mertens. The Belgian reached the round of 16 in Paris for the third time.

Pegula is the fourth player out of the top ten on the seeding list. She is still waiting for a semi-final in one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.