Two-time champion Novak Djokovic has huffed and puffed, but forced his way into the fourth round of the French Open with a 7-6(4) 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Spanish 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Aiming to leapfrog injured champion Rafael Nadal and win a 23rd Grand Slam title, Djokovic came into the match at Court Philippe Chatrier, having lost to Davidovich Fokina last time they met at Monte Carlo.
The Serbian was given an early reminder of his struggles in that 2022 match by the man-bun sporting Davidovich Fokina, who had the world No.3 tied up in knots with heavy hitting and breathtaking drop shots.
Djokovic, 36, creaked on serve, but hit back when it mattered to level at 3-3 and edged the 83-minute first set with a blistering crosscourt winner that drew huge roars.
A charged-up Djokovic responded to an early break with two of his own, but dropped serve again in the wildly swinging second set, before shrugging off three double faults at 5-5 and a time violation to double his advantage in another tiebreak.
He called the trainer onto the court for an apparent left leg issue, sparking fears the injury that accompanied his run to the Australian Open title in January had returned, but pulled away in the third set and crossed the finish-line in style.
Meanwhile, former French Open quarter-finalist Elina Svitolina has moved into the fourth round, with a determined performance to stave off giantkilling Russian Anna Blinkova and claim a 2-6 6-2 7-5 victory.
Svitolina returned to the WTA Tour at the Charleston Open in April, after the birth of daughter Skai with husband and fellow tennis player Gael Monfils, and bagged her first title in two years by beating Blinkova in last week's Strasbourg final.
Up next for Svitolina is another Russian - last year's semi-finalist Daria Kasatkina - who beat Peyton Stearns.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz has delivered a confident self-assessment in his first Grand Slam as the top seed, after booking his fourth round spot, saying he is the complete article.
Alcaraz stormed past Canada's Denis Shapovalov with a 6-1 6-4 6-2 demolition to set up a fourth round match against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti.
Alcaraz, 20, became the youngest world No.1, when he was 19 last year. He is also the youngest top seed at Paris, since Bjorn Borg in 1976.
He already has one Grand Slam, after winning the US Open last year, and is the favourite to lift the trophy on the Parisian clay.
He said his previous French Open in 2022, when he lost in the last eight, as well as his US Open title run, had started worse than this year's French Open.
Reuters
