Resurgent Djokovic tames Verdasco
PARIS: Resurgent former champion Novak Djokovic moved ominously into the French Open quarterfinals for the 12th time yesterday as he subdued feisty Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco 63, 64, 62.
The Serb, seeded 20th after a welldocumented form slump, was given a ferocious fight in the early stages with the opening three games lasting 29 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
But what looked like being a long evening for the 12time grand slam champion ended up being a reasonably comfortable one as he kept Verdasco at arm’s length.
It was was Djokovic’s 200th tourlevel claycourt win.
Italian Marco Cecchinato, who had never won a grand slam match before this week, beat eighthseeded Belgian David Goffin 75, 46, 60, 63 to reach his first major quarterfinal.
At world No 72, Cecchinato becomes the lowestranked man to reach the last eight in Paris since Latvian Ernests Gulbis (ranked 80) in 2008.
He will next face Djokovic for a place in the final four.
‘‘For me it is a dream,’’ Cecchinato said. ‘‘It will be a pleasure to play against Novak.’’
Seventh seed Dominic Thiem booked a place in the quarterfinals for a third straight year, defeating Japan’s Kei Nishikori 62, 60, 57, 64.
‘‘The first two sets were amazing but then he [Nishikori] raised his levels,’’ Thiem said.
Thiem will next face second seed Alexander Zverev for a spot in his third consecutive semifinal in Paris.
Zverev recovered from two sets to one down for a third consecutive match to edged out Russian Karen Khachanov 46, 76 (74), 26, 63, 63.
The 21yearold German has progressed to his first grand slam quarterfinals and became the seventh German man in the open era to reach the last eight at Roland Garros.
‘‘I’m young, so I might as well stay on court and practise a little bit,’’ Zverev said. ‘‘It’s the best, a fiveset match.
In the women’s draw, Kazakh Yulia Putintseva produced a clinical display to beat 26thseeded Czech Barbora Strycova 64, 63 in one hour and 30 minutes.
Putintseva matched her best Roland Garros performance by reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016.
The 23yearold will next face US Open runnerup Madison Keys, who overcame Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu 61 64 in just over an hour to reach her first quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
American US Open champion Sloane Stephens was in complete control as she broke Estonian Anett Kontaveit’s serve five times on her way to a 62, 60 win in just 52 minutes.—