Djokovic rolls into quarters; Nadal, Gauff also advance

Defending champion Novak Djokovic recorded another straight-set victory and will face Diego Schwartzman for a spot in the quarterfinals at the French Open in Paris.

Top-ranked Djokovic beat Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday at Court Philippe Chatrier in 1 hour, 44 minutes — the quickest of his three wins.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t lost in the third round at Roland Garros since 2009.

Schwartzman’s 0-6 record against Djokovic includes a five-setter in the third round of the 2017 French Open. The 15th-seeded Argentine, a 2020 Roland Garros semifinalist, beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 at Court Simonne Mathieu. The 18th-seeded Bulgarian made 59 unforced errors.

Also advancing Friday was 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. The No. 5 seed moved into the fourth round at Roland Garros by beating Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Nadal said it was the best of his three wins this week, at least up until Van de Zandschulp crept back into the third set. Nadal in his on-court interview said he was disappointed to miss a break point that would have put him up 5-0.

Nadal’s 301st win at Grand Slams means he will face ninth-seeded Felix Auger-aliassime for a spot in the quarterfinals. The Canadian advanced by beating Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), 7-5.

On the women’s side:

■ Former Atlanta resident Coco Gauff reached the fourth round by beating Kaia Kanepi. The 18-yearold Gauff, the youngest remaining woman in the draw, defeated the 36-year-old Kanepi, the oldest remaining woman, 6-3, 6-4.

The young American is trying to improve on her quarterfinal run at Roland Garros a year ago.

Gauff had six aces — and five double-faults — while her Estonian opponent made 29 unforced errors. The teenager has not dropped a set in three matches.

Gauff next faces No. 31 Elise Mertens.

■ U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez reached the fourth round for the first time. The 19-year-old Canadian beat Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 at Court Philippe Chatrier.

The 17th-seeded Fernandez broke Bencic in the 11th game of the deciding set and served out the match. She had saved two set points in the opener.

Fernandez next faces 20-year-old Amanda Anisimova, who moved into the fourth round when Karolina Muchova stopped playing after hurting her right ankle.

The 27th-seeded Anisimova, an American who reached the Roland Garros semifinals at the age of 17 in 2019, was leading 6-7 (7), 6-2, 3-0 when Muchova walked to the net to concede the match.

■ Aliaksandra Sasnovich eliminated a Grand Slam champion for the second straight match to reach the fourth round. The 47th-ranked Belarusian beat three-time major champion Angelique Kerber 6-4, 7-6 (5) at Court Simonne Mathieu.

Sasnovich had defeated reigning U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in the second round.

THIBAULT CAMUS/ASSOCIATED PRESS Novak Djokovic celebrates a point during his 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aljaz Bedene in the third round of the French Open on Friday in Paris. He will face Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals.