Djokovic ties Big Three rivals
PARIS — Forget the idea of an early upset or even slightest upstaging of Novak Djokovic.
He is outclassing opponents and making every contest uncompetitive, yet again ceding merely five games — as he has each time out so far on this trip to Roland Garros — in a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory Saturday over 153rd-ranked Daniel Elahi Galan.
Djokovic tied a record shared by Big Three rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by getting to the round of 16 at the French Open for the 11th consecutive year. He has not had too much trouble, either. He was never really tested by Galan and improved to 34-1 in 2020 after a match played in a light rain in the first set and showers that grew stronger to force the roof to close.
“If you impose yourself from the very beginning on the court, which I have in those first three matches here,” said Djokovic, who is bidding for a second French Open championship and 18th Grand Slam title in all, “then it makes it hard for them to really believe that they can come back and make a turnaround in the match.”
Galan confirmed as much.
“Of course he’s superior [to] me, but you also feel like you have to make everything
perfect or you will lose zero, zero and zero,” Galan said. “And I was [down 6-0, 2-0], and I was worried about it.”
Djokovic was concerned, truly, by just one matter: the rain that was falling.
As he said to chair umpire Jaume Campistol, “What is the reason for not closing the roof if we have it?”
It didn’t seem to affect Djokovic’s play, though.
The drop shot and lob combinations were working well. The ref lex returns of 125-mph would-be aces were impeccable.
And those forehands? “It was like a rocket. Every forehand,” said Galan, who called that stroke far more impressive in person than on TV. “I was not able to even react.”
Eventually, but only after Galan slipped behind the baseline while trying to change directions and Djokovic checked on him, was play was paused and the $55-million retractable cover was shut.
Djokovic kidded around with the grounds crew, even grabbing a broom to help sweep the lines before action resumed.
No. 2-seeded Nadal, the 12-time champion in Paris, and No. 3 Dominic Thiem, the runner-up to him the last two years, both play Sunday against 20-year-old opponents who are ranked outside the top 200.
Grigor Dimitrov moved into the fourth round 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 was a stomach virus. The 18thseeded Dimitrov was ahead 6-1, 6-3 when Carballes Baena stopped.
On the women’s side, Danielle Collins grabbed the last four games to come back and beat 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the last third-round singles match.
“You can go out any round,” Muguruza said. “I’m seeing players that, you know, some of them [I’ve] never seen before, playing incredible.”