Djokovic smashes racket in frustration but wins through
Novak Djokovic dropped his first set, and smashed his first racket, at this year’s French Open but still battled through to the fourth round.
The former world No 1 cut a frustrated figure for long periods of his clash with Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, the 13th seed.
When he missed a simple forehand during the second-set tie-break, Djokovic pounded his racket against the ground before stomping off to unwrap a new one.
The Serb is seeded 20th following his recent absence through injury, which necessitated a minor operation to ease an elbow problem earlier this year, but the elbow did not seem to be troubling him as his racket bore the brunt of his irritation.
Nevertheless, the 2016 Paris winner eventually found a way past Bautista Agut, winning 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
“It was a big point,” Djokovic explained, “And I managed to come back from being down in the tie-break, and 6-6. If the ball went over it would be a winner and I hit the top of the net.
“In these kind of circumstances, sometimes emotions get the worst out of you or the best out of you, whatever you want to call it.
“I’m not proud of doing that. I don’t like doing that. But at times, it happens.”
Djokovic’s route deeper in the tournament may have been made a little easier after fourth-seed Grigor Dimitrov bowed out.
The 12-time grand slam winner will instead meet another Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, in the last 16 after the 30th seed defeated the Bulgarian 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-4.
Verdasco has now reached the fourth round at Roland Garros seven times but he has yet to progress any further.
Second-seed Alexander Zverev, who along with Djokovic is seen as one of the few genuine challengers to tentime champion Rafael Nadal this year, was taken to five sets for the second time.
In the match of the tournament so far, the 21-year-old German was up against it, trailing 2-1 to Damir Dzumhur.
The Bosnian forced two match points in the deciding set but he put the second, a simple forehand winner, into the net and Zverev survived before going on to register a 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 victory.
Caroline Wozniacki raced into the fourth round of the women’s singles with a crushing victory over home hope Pauline Parmentier.
The feeling among the locals was that Parmentier, the world No 75, could trouble the second seed but the 32-yearold faced a double bagel with Wozniacki up 6-0, 5-0 after only an hour.
She actually won the next three games, but Wozniacki went through 6-0, 6-3.
“I feel pretty good. I think I played some solid tennis and I’m happy to be through to the fourth round here again,” said Wozniacki,who will face Russian Daria Kasatkina, seeded 14, in the last 16 after she edged past Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.
There was a shock in round three as fourth-seed Elina Svitolina went down 6-3, 7-5 to Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania, seeded 31.