The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Djokovic hits the boos in Paris on way to win
Novak Djokovic was booed as he walked on to court and cupped his ear at a strangely-hostile crowd during his three-set win over Diego Schwartzman at the French Open.
Argentinian Schwartzman was clearly being backed by a large South American and Spanish contingent on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
But the jeering of the world No 1 and defending champion seemed excessive and even prompted Eurosport’s Alex Corretja to say: “I don’t like that.
“It’s Novak Djokovic. He has given us so much.”
But Djokovic gave the perfect response with a 6-1 6-3 6-3 demolition of the 15th seed to book his place in the quarter-finals.
The Serbian has yet to drop a set in the tournament as he bids for a record-equalling 21st grand slam title.
“I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a good person off the court,” said Djokovic.
“I’ve made a good start – but I have a lot of work to do.”
That work will begin with the hotly-anticipated quarter-final showdown with his great rival Rafael Nadal, who came through a marathon five-setter against Felix Augur-Aliassime.
The Spaniard, looking for title number 14 on the red dirt of Paris, attended the Champions League final on Saturday evening.
It looked for a while that Nadal may have celebrated Real Madrid’s victory over Liverpool a little too much, as he was broken twice on his way to losing the first set.
Nadal’s uncle Toni, who will have had mixed feelings as he coaches the Canadian ninth seed, was watching on from a position of neutrality in the presidential box as his nephew hauled himself into a 2-1 lead.
But when AugerAliassime took Nadal into a fifth set for only the third time at Roland Garros, it was all too much for Nadal senior to bear and he left.
He missed a cracker of a decider, Nadal pouncing in the eighth game and then serving out despite some heroic defending from his young opponent.
“He’s a great player without a doubt, one of the best in the world,” said Nadal after his 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 win.
“He’s very young with a lot of power and great mobility. I had a very tough opponent today.”
Another sub-plot will be whether Roland Garros chiefs put the blockbuster last-eight encounter on as the showpiece night match,
given that it would therefore not be on free-toair television in France.
The players will also have their say, and Nadal has already stated he does not like playing at night, while Djokovic smiled: “All I will say is Rafa and I would make different requests.”
The first battle will need to be won before a ball is even struck.
Third seed Alexander Zverev won his fourthround match against Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-6 7-5 6-3.
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff believes Emma Raducanu’s surprise US Open win has inspired the rest of the women’s field to believe they can challenge for the top prizes.
British teenager Raducanu shocked the sporting world when she came through qualifying to triumph at Flushing Meadows last year.
Gauff is through to her second Roland Garros quarter-final following a 6-4 6-0 victory over Elise Mertens and the draw has opened up for the 18-year-old.
With nine of the top 10 seeds already out and world number one Iga Swiatek in the other half of the draw, a run to her first grand slam final looks a real possibility.
But the American 18th seed feels there are still a host of players capable of a Raducanu-style tilt at the title.
Gauff, who like Raducanu made her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2019, said: “I’m thinking, especially if US Open taught us anything, that anybody can win on any day.
“I think all players should really go into the match thinking about that.
“I think for me I’ve always believed that I could go far, but for other players I think so as well.
“In this tournament, I mean, both sides of the draw, with the exception of Iga, there are a lot of lowerseeded and lower-ranked players still left in the tournament.
“So I really think that players believe that. Other players believe that. I think a lot of it stems from that tournament.”
Leylah Fernandez, the runner-up to Raducanu in New York, is still in the mix after beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3 4-6 6-3.
The 19-year-old from Canada will play Italian world No 59 Martina Trevisan, who beat Raducanu’s conqueror Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6 (10) 7-5, in the last eight.
● Jonny O’Mara’s remarkable run came to a sudden halt at the French Open in Paris yesterday as the Arbroath tennis player crashed out of the doubles at Roland Garros.
O’Mara and American Jackson Withrow were only added to the draw at the last minute after other pairs dropped out.
They grabbed their unexpected opportunity, winning their opening two matches, but yesterday’s last 16 clash with fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos proved a step too far.
The Spaniard and the Argentine sailed through 6-1, 6-1 to underline their status as genuine title contenders.
O’Mara will now turn his attention to the grass court season and Wimbledon.
Christian Robertson played the innings of his life to fire Forfarshire to derby victory over Arbroath at Lochlands on Saturday.
Robertson, making his first appearance of the season, came to the crease with his side wobbling on 27-3 and he watched the situation deteriorate as they slumped to 114-7 to raise hopes in the home camp of a first win of the campaign.
However, with crucial support from the tail, Robertson rose to the challenge, gradually wrestling the initiative away from the bowlers and putting his team firmly in charge.
The hero of the hour stroked his way to a superb century, finishing unbeaten on 123 from 129 deliveries with fourteen boundaries.
Meanwhile Glenn Carnegie made 37no as the pair put on a record 102 for the final wicket, propelling ’Shire to a formidable 289-9.
Their efforts undermined what had been a promising display from the Lochlands side, for whom Gregor Fraser and Craig Ross each claimed three wickets.
However, clearly deflated, Arbroath never threatened a successful run-chase, slipping to 138 all out as Jack Hogarth (4-19) and Scott Cameron (3-33) cashed in.
Skipper Cameron said: “It was a brilliant effort from Christian – he batted really, really well.
“Some people think he’s a bowler who bats but I think it’s the other way round and he proved me right today.
“At 114-7, I’d have been happy with 150-180 but I know we bat all the way down and Glenn showed that, so I’m not that surprised.”
Meanwhile, Falkland skipper Lyle Robertson shrugged off the disappointment of a tense two-run defeat at Grange to predict a promising future for his team.
The Fifers, inspired by all-round heroics from young Aussie Charlie Cassell, bowled and fielded superbly to restrict the inform Edinburgh side to 233
at Portgower Place. Cassell claimed five wickets while Greg Chambers weighed-in with four to put Falkland in with the chance of a shock win.
Cassell then hit 64 from only 45 deliveries to further raise hopes of an upset, only for the visitors to fall agonisingly short. Robertson, newly installed as club captain, said: “I’m really proud of the lads.
“Obviously, we have had a pretty rough start to the season but I think we are finally finding our feet and playing harder competitive cricket.
“In the first half we got off to a great start with Charlie and Ryan (Hepburn) using the new ball well and then Greg came on late and broke an important partnership.
“Jack (Henderson) and Adam (Ferguson) then went out and batted with real intent to build a good partnership and then Charlie showed no fear.
“It’s obviously frustrating getting very close and being on the wrong side of the result but I’m very proud of all the team and there are great signs leading into the next few weeks.”
Elsewhere, champions Heriot’s lost their unbeaten record to RH Corstorphine, Stoneywood-Dyce went joint top with victory at Watsonians while Stewarts Melville edged out Carlton by one wicket.