Djokovic, Tsitsipas Easy French Open Winners, Altmaier Impresses; Zverev v Sinner Sunday
Favorites Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev all won easy matches Saturday at the French Open.
Djokovic cruised past lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. About the only drama in the match was the roof closing DURING PLAY early in the third, leaving the Galan side wetter than Djokovic’s. As rain got heavier, play was finally halted for 15 minutes to allow the roof to close and the court to get some added sand.
”If you impose yourself from the very beginning on the court, which I have in those first three matches here, then it makes it hard for them to really believe that they can come back and make a turnaround in the match,” said Djokovic.
Djokovic improves to 34-1 on the year. Next will be his first real test against Russian Karen Khachanov who dispatched Cristian Garin 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“Try to be steady, to try to maintain the level that we will play, most time possible,” said Khachanov. “Keep pushing to try to break the guy if something is going wrong on serve.:
After going down 0-2 in his opening match against Juame Munar, Stefanos Tsitsipas hasn’t dropped a set. And today, he didn’t even need to finish as Aljaz Bedene retired down two sets and a break due to an ankle.
Tsitsipas will meet Grigor Dimotrov who also received a third set retirement. Roberto Carballes Baena pulled out down two sets to the Bulgarian.
“At 3 a.m. I woke up with a pain in my stomach and feeling so bad,” said Carballos Baena. “Then I warmed up this morning. I was feeling better. But after the warm-up, I was sick again two times. It was tough.”
Andrey Rublev also rolled, winning his 8th consecutive match with a comfortable win over 2-time Slam finalist Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The Russian will now meet Marton Fucsovics in a tricky fourth round.
“When we played, I won in five sets, but we were different players,” the Hungarian said looking ahead. “Right now he’s just about to break in the Top 10. But it was four or five years ago when we played. I am more mature. I have more experience. I’m fit now, fitter than ever. I’m looking forward to play a good match against him, try to break through finally to the quarterfinals.”
In the upset of the day, 22-year-old Daniel Altmaier continued his Grand Slam debut stunning Matteo Berrettini 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4. The German qualifier hasn’t dropped a set in three matches.
“It’s my first time on this court and playing in Paris, I’m delighted to be in the fourth round,” Altmaier said on court. “My coach and I have been working so hard to be here, and while I’ve struggled with a few injuries, I am super-pleased it’s at Roland Garros. Before qualifying, I was struggling with an injury, so I wasn’t sure I was going to play. I hope the crowd and the TV audience enjoyed watching, as I want to entertain.”
Altmaier’s dream run continues Monday against the steady Pablo Carreno Busta who outlasted countryman Roberto Bautista Agut in four.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal returns against 20-year-old American qualifier Sebastian Korda. Dominic Thiem takes on French wildcard Hugo Gaston.
And while those two top seeds figure to have easy afternoons, Alexander Zverev faces Italian 19-year-old sensation Jannik Sinner.
SUNDAY FRENCH OPEN SCHEDULE
** Court Philippe CHATRIER ** Début à 11h00
1 SD H Simona HALEP (ROU) [1] contre Iga SWIATEK (POL)
suivi de
2 SM H Sebastian KORDA (USA) contre Rafael NADAL (ESP) [2]
3 SD H Elina SVITOLINA (UKR)[3] contre Caroline GARCIA (FRA)
4 SM H Hugo GASTON (FRA) contre Dominic THIEM (AUT)[3]
** Court Suzanne LENGLEN ** Début à 11h00
1 SD H Martina TREVISAN (ITA) contre Kiki BERTENS (NED) [5]
suivi de
2 SM H Alexander ZVEREV (GER) [6] contre Jannik SINNER (ITA)
3 SM H Lorenzo SONEGO (ITA) contre Diego SCHWARTZMAN (ARG) [12]
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