Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts as he performs in opposition to Diego Schwartzman throughout their males’s singles match on day eight of the Roland-Garros Open tennis event on the Court docket Suzanne-Lenglen in Paris on Could 29, 2022. (Picture by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP)
Novak Djokovic arrange a potential quarterfinal assembly with outdated rival Rafael Nadal on the French Open with a formidable straight-sets victory over Diego Schwartzman on Sunday.
The reigning champion, bidding to equal Nadal’s males’s file of 21 Grand Slam titles, eased to a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory in his last-16 tie in opposition to fifteenth seed Schwartzman.
Djokovic is taking part in in a significant event for the primary time this yr after being deported from the Australian Open, the place Nadal gained his twenty first Slam, over his Covid vaccination standing.
The world primary continues to be to drop a set at Roland Garros after cruising by way of the primary week.
The 35-year-old is on the lookout for a 3rd French Open title after securing a second crown final yr by defeating Nadal within the semi-finals and getting back from two units behind to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas within the closing.
Djokovic took his head-to-head file in opposition to Argentinian Schwartzman to 7-0 with a scientific show, during which he saved seven of the eight break factors he confronted.
He’s right into a sixteenth French Open quarter-final and has not failed to achieve that stage since 2009.
The Serbian star saved two break factors within the third sport of the match earlier than racing by way of the opening set.
The second proved to be much more aggressive, although, as Schwartzman took a 3-0 lead earlier than being damaged again as the highest seed reeled off three fast factors.
Djokovic needed to stave off three break factors to stage the set at 3-3 and made it 5 straight video games with a gutsy maintain after Schwartzman dropped serve once more.
A sequence of blistering baseline photographs wrapped up the set, leaving Schwartzman needing to turn into solely the second man to come back again from two units all the way down to win in opposition to Djokovic at a Grand Slam.
Schwartzman continued to persistently put Djokovic’s serve underneath strain with out having the ability to apply the killer contact, seeing one other break level come and go within the fifth sport of the third set.
The sample of the match continued, as Djokovic broke within the very subsequent sport to all however finish the tie as a contest.
Schwartzman saved a match level in sport eight to drive Djokovic to serve it out, which he did, to like.
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