No. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic quietly qualified to the round of 16 at Roland-Garros beating Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, 195th, 6-3 on Friday. This is the 16th consecutive participation and the 13th consecutive time that the Serb has made it to this stage. He has won Porte d'Auteuil twice (2016 and 2021) and is currently the champion in title.
Novak Djokovic was quick to react. The Serb wins in 3 sets (6-3, 6-3, 6-2) He will face Diego Schwartzman in the 1/8th final.> LIVE: https://t.co/ZEcd6CFCn0 pic.twitter. com/aMnZTQ4wAG
The Serb won't have to struggle as hard as he did in the first two rounds to defeat the Slovenian, who he had beaten three times in their previous encounters. Bedene had one chance to grab Djokovic's service during the 1h44.
When asked if he played "the perfect match", world No.1 said that he did well but there are always areas for improvement. "I am always motivated to be at my best when I'm on the court. He said it in French, "It's not always possible but today was very good."
Soon after, on the Lenglen it was Rafael Nadal from Spain who won his third round easily in less than two hours against Botic van der Zandschulp (6-3.6-2.6-4).
In the next round, the fifth place in the world will be contested by Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada, seeded #ndeg9 who beat Filip Krajinovic (55th), in three sets (7-6/7-6, 7-5).
Argentinian Diego Schwartzman (16th in the world) easily defeated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (21) 6-3, 6-1 and 6-2. He will now be Novak Djokovic’s next opponent. The semi-finalist in 2020 edition has gained momentum after a difficult start. He had to play two sets back against Jaume Munar from Spain.
Dimitrov had dropped only 10 games in his previous two rounds. Schwartzman, however, was able take full control of the game and not let go. When Dimitrov tried to rebel and broke from the start in the third set, Schwartzman quickly set the record, winning 6 consecutive games in 2:05.
"El Peque," in turn, takes revenge for Dimitrov's defeat in Madrid, where he had won 6-0,6-3. Schwartzman may face Djokovic in the next round. To do this, the Serb must beat Aljaz Bedene (195th) in the third round.
The clashes between these two men have always been to the benefit of the world No. 1 (6 wins to 0), although the Argentine noted that "when we faced here in 2017 it ended in five sets, so who knows?" Paris is a good place for me, and I have many good memories there. We'll see.
