Serbia’s Novak Djokovic plays a shot against Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas during their fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The 36-year-old Serb eased past his 94th-ranked Peruvian opponent, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a last eight encounter against Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals
Novak Djokovic reached his 55th Grand Slam quarter-final and record 17th at the French Open on Sunday with a straight-sets win over Juan Pablo Varillas.
Djokovic, chasing a third Roland Garros championship and record-setting 23rd men’s Grand Slam title, eased past his 94th-ranked Peruvian opponent, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
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The 36-year-old Serb, champion in Paris in 2016 and 2021, will face 11th seed Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals.
Djokovic holds a commanding 8-1 career lead over the Russian including their only previous meeting at the French Open in 2020.
“I had never played my opponent before. I knew he was a clay court specialist and that I had to earn the victory. It was the best I played this week,” said Djokovic after ensuring a 14th successive last-eight spot at the tournament.
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On his record 17th quarter-final in Paris, he added: “I am very proud of this record. I have put a lot of effort into my game and I am very motivated to continue.”
On Sunday, Djokovic fought off a break point in the opening game of the first set before stretching out to a convincing 4-0 lead.
Two more breaks then helped him to a comfortable 5-1 advantage in the second set. It took Djokovic just 79 minutes to open a two-set lead.
That was in stark contrast to his gruelling third-round win over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
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The first two sets then needed two hours and 53 minutes to negotiate and his eventual straight-sets win proved to be the longest three-setter he had ever played, clocked at three hours and 36 minutes.
Varillas, who had never won a Grand Slam match before this year’s French Open, continued to wilt, slipping 2-1 down and then 4-1 down in the third before Djokovic put him out of his misery after a shade under two hours on court.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
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