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.
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.
Big B did not see the Wimbledon finals, but on Monday morning, the "Kalki 2898 AD" actor turned to his X handle to share his thoughts about the Sunday's championship match between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcarez.
Aiming for his fourth trophy on the clay courts of Paris, the 37-year-old Djokovic showed flashes of his best tennis across a convincing 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory against Roberto Carballes Baena.
The top-ranked player made 54 unforced errors and failed to produce a break point during the 22-year-old's incredible performance at the Australian Open in 2024.
Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic won a dramatic mixed doubles match in their last encounter of 2023 on Sunday night, ensuring that Team Serbia will celebrate the new year with a winning feeling.
The World No. 1, who captured a record-extending 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome earlier in May, has looked in control throughout the first week in Paris, where the 35-year-old is yet to drop a set. He extended that run on Friday by beating Bedene 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in a third-round clash.
Coached by Marian Vajda, a long-time Novak's trainer, Alex played well in the third set to stay in touch with world no. 1 and reach a tie break.
In addition, as the sixth seed, talented Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz joins the two stalwarts in the top half and could face Djokovic or Nadal in the semifinals.
The Serbian became the fifth man in the Open Era to earn 1,000 match wins when he defeated Casper Ruud in the semi-finals and he backed that up with a hard-fought display against Tsitsipas to win his first title of the season after one hour and 37 minutes.
After 75 minutes, the Serbian soaked up Wawrinka's heavy ball-striking and pulled the former World No 3 around to advance to the quarter-finals.
