Djokovic wins ‘easily’ again at French Open

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PARIS, Oct 3, (AP): Novak Djokovic tied a record shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by getting to the fourth round of the French Open for the 11th consecutive appearance. Djokovic has not had too much trouble, either: His 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Daniel Elahi Galan means the No. 1 seed has dropped merely five games in each of his three matches so far. The match was played in a light rain in the first set, and the shower grew stronger later, so the roof was shut.

Djokovic was never really tested by Galan and improved to 34-1 in 2020. Next up for Djokovic as he pursues a second French Open title and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall: No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov. Grigor Dimitrov moved into the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in 10 appearances at the tournament when his opponent Roberto Carballes Baena quit after two sets because of what he said a doctor diagnosed as a stomach virus.

The 18th-seeded Dimitrov was ahead 6-1, 6-3 when Carballes Baena stopped. Dimitrov has been to the semifinals once at each of the other three Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open last year. But he had been 0-4 in the third round at the French Open until now. The 101st-ranked Carballes Baena,who upset No. 9 seed Denis Shapovalov in five sets in his previous match, said he woke up at 3 am on Saturday “with a pain in my stomach and feeling so bad.” Carballes Baena said that after he warmed up on court in the morning, he threw up. He hoped he would feel better during the match but said instead he felt worse. Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the fourth round at the French Open for the second year in a row. He advanced when Aljaz Bedene stopped playing in the third set because of an injured right ankle.

Tsitsipas led 6-1, 6-2, 3-1 when Bedene retired. Tsitsipas was dominating the match. He had more than twice as many winners as Bedene, 28-13, and about a third as many unforced errors. Also into the fourth round on Saturday was No. 30 seed Ons Jabeur. She became the first Arab woman to get that far in Paris by eliminating No. 8 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-3. Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin returned to the French Open’s fourth round, and Zhang Shuai became China’s first player to get that far since Li Na in 2012. No. 4 seed Kenin blew past Romanian qualifier Irina Bara 6-2, 6-0 in 72 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. Zhang ended the run of French wildcard entry Clara Burel with a hardfought 7-6 (2), 7-5 win in two hours, 12 minutes on Court Simonne Mathieu. The 31-year-old Zhang is ranked 39th and had never made it beyond the third round in her nine previous French Opens. Kenin has advanced to the second week of all three Grand Slams in this pandemic-hit season.

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