Nadal, Djokovic lack their usual dominance
PARIS — For the third time in three matches at this year’s French Open, Rafael Nadal hardly looked himself for a set.
Unlike in the first two rounds, Nadal won his opening set Saturday, albeit barely. The takeaway, even after another victory, was the same: The owner of a record seven titles at Roland Garros is not the dominant force he usually is at the clay-court tournament.
“If I want to have any chance,” Nadal acknowledged after beating 27th-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4, “I really need to play better.”
Hours later, the man Nadal beat in last year’s final and could meet in this year’s semifinals, No. 1 Novak Djokovic, seemed vulnerable, too. Walking to his changeover chair at 4-3 in the third set of a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win against No. 26 Grigor Dimitrov, Djokovic stretched his right arm — the one he’s used to win six Grand Slam titles — several times. He then was treated by a trainer, who applied ointment and gave Djokovic a massage near the shoulder.
Two games later, the match was done, Djokovic was into the fourth round, and he raised that arm in his typical victory celebration.
His mood would shift dramatically soon. When Djokovic left the court and went to the locker room, he was told that his first coach — Jelena Gencic, who began working with little Nole when he was 6 — had died in Belgrade, Serbia, earlier Saturday. Djokovic issued a statement through the tournament saying that he would not be able to attend a post-match news conference.
“His team kept the news secret from him until after the match,” ATP spokesman Nicola Arzani said. “He just broke down. … He was very, very, very close to her.”
As they approach each other in the draw, Nadal now meets No. 13 Kei Nishikori — the first Japanese man in the fourth round of the French Open in 75 years — while Djokovic faces No. 16 Philipp Kohlschreiber. The other matchups on that half of the bracket after a wild Saturday in Paris: No. 12 Tommy Haas against No. 29 Mikhail Youzhny, and No. 7 Richard Gasquet against No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka.
Haas let a record 12 match points get away from him in the fourth set, then saved one in the fifth.
He eventually pulled out a 7-5, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-7 (10), 10-8 victory over 19th-seeded John Isner, the last American man in the field. Men’s seeded winners: No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Rafael Nadal, No. 7 Richard Gasquet, No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 12 Tommy Haas, No. 13 Kei Nishikori, No. 16 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 29 Mikhail Youzhny in the third round. Men’s seeded losers: No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic, No. 19 John Isner, No. 21 Jerzy Janowicz, No. 24 Benoit Paire, No. 26 Grigor Dimitrov, No. 27 Fabio Fognini in the third round. Women’s seeded winners: No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 3 Victoria Azarenka, No. 12 Maria Kirilenko, No. 17 Sloane Stephens, No. 18 Jelena Jankovic in the third round. Women’s seeded losers: No. 7 Petra Kvitova, No. 9 Sam Stosur, No. 13 Marion Bartoli, No. 31 Alize Cornet in the third round. On court today: No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 15 Gilles Simon; No. 4 David Ferrer vs. No. 23 Kevin Anderson; No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Viktor Troicki; No. 11 Nicolas Almagro vs. No. 32 Tommy Robredo; No. 1 Serena Williams vs. No. 15 Roberta Vinci; No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska vs. No. 14 Ana Ivanovic; No. 5 Sara Errani vs. No. 20 Carla Suarez Navarro; No. 8 Angelique Kerber vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova.