Top-seeded Azarenka upset at French Open
Djokovic, Federer escape serious trouble, top women’s seed ousted
PARIS– There was a moment, a little past 4 p.m. on a dank and dreary Sunday at the French Open, when the grey sky above appeared to be falling on some of the best of the best.
A listless Novak Djokovic, looking very little like someone ranked No. 1 and bidding to become the first man in 43 years to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles, was trying to work his way out of a twoset deficit against 22nd-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Even more astonishingly, a flummoxed Roger Federer, owner of a record 16 major championships, was trudging to the sideline after dropping his first set against 109thranked David Goffin of Belgium, a 21-year-old kid thrilled merely to be sharing Court Suzanne Lenglen with his idol. Goffin, it must be noted, was a “lucky loser” — a player beaten in qualifying who got to make his Grand Slam debut only because someone else withdrew.
By that point, one upset already was complete: The No. 1-seeded woman, Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, was headed home after losing to No. 15 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-2, 7-6 (4), busting a racket on the way out the door.
It seemed reasonable, if ever so briefly, to ask in the afternoon whether the tournament might soon be over in the fourth round for Djokovic and Federer, too. In the end, of course, the answer was no.
For quite some time, Djokovic missed shots this way and that, then shook his head or yelled at himself or spread his arms wide with palms up as if to ask, “What’s going on here?” He finished with 81 unforced errors in all, exactly his total for his first three matches combined. But Seppi’s not nearly as accustomed to these stages or stakes, and Djokovic pulled out a 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 victory, his 25th in a row at a major tournament.
“One of those days where … nothing is working,” Djokovic said. “I could not get into the rhythm.”
He began to turn things around by breaking serve to begin the third set, and he kept on doing that, nine times in all. “Maybe I could have started the third set better. I could have done a little more there,” Seppi said. “But he returns very well, and gets serves back almost always, which makes things difficult.”
Djokovic recognized that part of his problems early on had to with better-than-expected play by Seppi, who knocked off No. 14 Fernando Verdasco to get past the third round at a major for the first time.
So after shaking hands at the net when Djokovic finally closed out the four-hour, 18-minute win, he applauded Seppi and pointed toward the Italian, telling the crowd to salute him.
The third-seeded Federer, the 2009 champion at Roland Garros, did that one better after his 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory, giving Goffin a tap on the head and a pat on the backside when they were done playing.
Nestor, Mirnyi advance
Canadian Daniel Nestor and Belarusian partner Max Mirnyi reached the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of American Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram.
Nestor’s top-seeded team won in 71 minutes on a chilly, grey day at Roland Garros with the threat of rain.
The 39-year-old from Toronto will play for the semifinals against Australian Matthew Ebden and American partner Ryan Harrison.
“We’ve been playing very solid in these last three matches,” said Nestor. “That’s quite important. Preparation matches are important but you can’t substitute match play for anything.
“No matter how hard you train it’s not the same. We’ve been hitting in the mornings — it’s the only time we can get on the showcourts. It’s heavier conditions then so we are used to them.”