Djokovic thumps king of clay Nadal to enter third round
The two greats of the racquet game, both in the evening of their fabulous journey in tennis, have fought many a pitched battle between themselves in their glittering careers.
World number one Novak Djokovic has entered the quarterfinals of the French Open, defeating 15th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia in his fourth-round contest.
On Monday, Djokovic defeated 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 over the Russian 15th seed in a match that lasted for two hours and 23 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. He will now face No.17 seed Carreno Busta in his last eight encounter.
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Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first Greek player in history to reach the quarter-finals at the Roland Garros, defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6(9), 6-2. He will next lock horns with Andrey Rublev, who had the upper hand against him in their Hamburg final just eight days ago.
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“It is very important for me to take this opportunity and fight harder this time, maybe do something better,” said Tsitsipas, who also fell to the Russian No.13 seed at the US Open last year.
“He’s going to be difficult to play against. He has a very complete, solid game from all the departments. He has improved a lot his serve. He relies a lot on his power. He has very powerful shots. I think he for sure brings the best out of me when I step out on the court to play against him,” he added.
In other men’s singles quarterfinal matches, Rafael Nadal will face Jannik Sinner of Italy while Dominic Thiem will be competing against 12th seed Diego Schwartzman.
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