Nadal, Djokovic storm into French Open last 16
PARIS: A relentless Rafa Nadal cruised into the last 16 of the French Open for the 16th time on Saturday, with a brutal 6-3 6-3 6-3 dismantling of Briton Cameron Norrie. Nadal, who won his 13th title at Roland Garros last year, extended his run at the claycourt Grand Slam to an unbelievable 30 sets won in a row. He last dropped a set against Dominic Thiem in the 2019 final.
Norrie, the world number 45, battled gamely against the third seed, even breaking Nadal twice in the second set, but the ruthless Spaniard reeled him back in on both occasions, before serving out the one-sided contest a shade over two hours. Nadal will battle Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the 18th seed, for a place in the quarter-finals.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic booked his spot in the second week with a dominant 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 third-round win over 93rdranked Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis. The 34-year-old Serbian came into the match with a 3-0 head-to-head record against Berankis, who had never won a set in their previous meetings, and put in a clinical show on Philippe Chatrier court to stay on course for a 19th Grand Slam title. It is the 12th straight year that Djokovic has reached the fourth round at Roland Garros a record in the Open Era in Paris and breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The 2016 champion, who hit 30 winners against 18 unforced errors, is yet to lose a set in his three matches and will next face teenager Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated fellow Italian Marco Cecchinato 3-6 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-3.
Women’s fourth seed Sofia Kenin rallied from a set down to book a place in the last-16, defeating fellow American Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
While the women’s draw has already lost seven of the top 10 seeds, Kenin showed off her powers of recovery as she racked up a whopping 48 winners and broke Pegula’s serve seven times over the course of a near two hour contest.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek overcame an early break to defeat Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit and reach the last 16. The eighthseeded Pole won 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 to stretch her record of straightsets victories at Roland Garros to 10 matches.
Swiatek reeled off 11 of the last 13 games and will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk for a place in the quarter-finals. “She had a fast start and I was late getting going,” said Swiatek who had lost both her previous matches to Kontaveit.