Paris:
Novak Djokovic reached the quarterfinals of the French Open on Sunday for the 14th year in a row as world number one. Carlos Alcaraz The 22-time Grand Slam champion has outclassed Lorenzo Mussetti on a collision course.
Third-seeded Djokovic ended the surprise run of Peruvian outsider Juan Pablo Varillas, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and yet to drop a set in four matches.
The Serb, chasing a third Roland Garros crown, reached a record 17th French Open quarter-final after reaching the last eight of a major for the 55th time.
“I’m proud of it, but my focus is already on the next match,” said Djokovicwho will face Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals, where Alcaraz can wait.
“I know what my goal is here. I’m trying to stay mentally focused and definitely not look too far ahead.
“Obviously today’s performance gave me a lot of confidence in how I felt, how I played.”
The 27-year-old Varillas is the first Peruvian player to reach the second week of a Grand Slam since Jaime Yzaga reached the quarterfinals of the US Open 29 years ago.
Djokovic raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set only to break Varillas in the next game and then storm back in the seventh game.
But once Djokovic held a 5-2 lead.
Khachanov reached his third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final after recovering from a poor start to beat Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7), 6-1.
Djokovic owns an 8-1 record against Khachanov, having won their only previous meeting at the French Open in 2020.
Alcaraz looked like the favorite every part of the tournament after beating the talented Musetti in straight sets to reach the last eight of the French Open.
Musetti didn’t drop a set in three rounds but Alcaraz brushed aside the Italian 17th seed in just over two hours to win 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to avenge last year’s Hamburg final on clay.
“I think I played such a great level, really high quality shots. I played a really complete match from the first ball to the last and I’m very happy to get through this tough round,” said Alcaraz.
The 20-year-old next faces a tough task in 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated Austrian qualifier Sebastian Offner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.
“The clash we were all waiting for,” said Tsitsipas, the Greek fifth seed who has lost four meetings with Alcaraz. “I think everyone was expecting it, right? And here it is. Game on.”
Aryna Sabalenka defeated 2018 finalist Sloane Stephens 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in a topsy-turvy encounter in the night session — the first women’s match in this year’s primetime slot.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka went 5-0 up in the opener but Stephens saved four set points as she bounced back to level in five games.
Second seed Sabalenka eventually advanced in the tie-break and held off Stephens again in a tight second set to continue her best run in Paris.
The Belarusian goes into a politically charged duel with Elina Svitolina, who reached her fourth quarter-final in her first Grand Slam appearance since becoming a mother.
The Ukrainian beat Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) for her seventh win in seven matches against the Russian, who was a semi-finalist last year.
As in all her matches, Svitolina chose not to shake hands with her Russian opponent in protest of the war in Ukraine. Belarus is also an important military ally of Moscow.
Kasatkina still gave her rival a friendly thumbs-up.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up, came from a set and a break down to beat 28th seed Elise Mertens of Belgium 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
The Russian, whose ranking has dropped to 333 following a serious knee injury, is the lowest-ranked Grand Slam quarterfinalist in the tournament’s history.
Pavlyuchenkova will play Karolina Muchova to secure a place in the last four after defeating Czech lucky Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-3.
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