Kenin’s game goes through a sudden sea( t) change

American advances to quarterfinals at French Open after dad makes a motivational switch.

PARIS — After Sofia Kenin dropped the opening set in the French Open’s fourth round Monday, her father, Alexander, who is also her coach, switched seats in the stands, plopping himself down right next to her opponent’s coach.

So much for social distancing amid a pandemic.

Whether the elder Kenin’s move, so noticeable in the sea of empty beige seats at Court Philippe Chatrier, actually inf luenced the outcome can’t be known with any certainty — the chair umpire did give a warning for coaching, which isn’t allowed during Grand Slam matches; the Australian Open champion said her dad merely helped by “motivating ” — things did turn around soon afterward.

Never before a quarterfinalist at any tour- level clay- court tournament, Kenin reached that stage at Roland Garros by making a key adjustment, taking balls sooner and leaving Fiona Ferro less time to operate in a 2- 6, 6- 2, 6- 1 victory over the last player from France in either singles bracket.

A year ago in Paris, Kenin showed what she was capable of, upsetting Serena Williams in the third round.

“This used to be a surface that I really don’t like,” said Kenin, who wiped away tears with a towel at match’s end. “Now it’s obviously a surface that I really enjoy.”

She needed to wait a day to f ind out who she’ll play next, because the match between No. 30 Ons Jabeur and Danielle Collins of the U. S., scheduled for open- air Suzanne Lenglen Court, was postponed by rain.

The other quarterfinal in that half of the draw will be two- time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova against Laura Siegemund.

The men’s quarterfinals established Monday are both rematches: No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 17 Pablo Carreno Busta, and No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas against No. 13 Andrey Rublev.

Djokovic dealt with what amounted to the closest thing to a challenge he’s faced so far in the tournament in his 6- 4, 6- 3, 6- 3 win over No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov — the 2016 champion has dropped a total of 25 games in four matches. What drew attention was what the 17- time Grand Slam champion termed “very awkward deja vu.” Djokovic stretched wide of the doubles alley to try to return a f irst- set serve, the ball ricocheting off his racket frame and into the head of a seated line judge.

Djokovic immediately went to check on the man, who signaled a thumbs- up.