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| Dates: 28 May-11 June Venue: Roland Garros, Paris |
| Coverage: Live text and radio commentaries of selected matches across BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the BBC Sport website and app |
Novak Djokovic says he did not have “time to name the many injuries” he has after navigating his way through a tricky French Open encounter.
The Serb needed treatment on his thigh before securing a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the last 16.
Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz also progressed with a 6-1 6-4 6-2 win over Canadian 26th seed Denis Shapovalov.
Alcaraz, 20, will play Lorenzo Musetti after he beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev was knocked out by Lorenzo Sonego after relinquishing a two-set lead in a five-set thriller which ended 5-7 0-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to the unseeded Italian.
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was beaten by two-time champion Djokovic in the 2021 final, breezed past Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 6-2 6-2 6-3.
‘Sometimes you need help from the physios or the angels’
Third seed Djokovic, 36, looked uncomfortable at times against Davidovich Fokina, particularly in the third set after he had received treatment in a medical timeout at the end of the second.
But he came through to move a step closer to winning a record 23rd Grand Slam men’s singles title.
Djokovic is yet to drop a set at Roland Garros this year but came closer than he would have liked against Davidovich Fokina – a player he lost to on the Monte Carlo clay last year – with the first two sets going to tie-breaks and lasting more than three hours combined.
“Sometimes you need help from physio during the match,” said Djokovic.
“Sometimes you need pills. Sometimes you need help from the god or angels, or whoever. Sometimes you just have to deal with the reality.”
Asked if he was concerned about his physical state, he added: “We don’t have much time to start to name the many injuries I have, and the list is quite long.
“I don’t want to sit here and talk about these things that are not preventing me from playing. I still kept on playing. These are the circumstances that you, as a professional athlete, have to deal with. Accept it.
“The reality for me nowadays is my body is responding differently than it did few years ago.”
It is in Paris that Davidovich Fokina, ranked 34th in the world, has enjoyed his best success at a Grand Slam, reaching the quarter-finals in 2021, and he came out swinging against Djokovic with big hits and sublime drop shots causing all sorts of trouble for the former world number one.
After edging a first set in which he was twice a break down, made four double faults and received a time violation, Djokovic saved set point in the second before squeezing past his opponent in a second tie-break and then celebrating wildly.
He then received treatment but still dominated the remainder of the match to end Davidovich Fokina’s hopes of an upset.
Djokovic, through to the fourth round for the 14th successive year, will face Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas next.
Alcaraz continues ‘dream’ of competing with Djokovic
In the absence of 14-time champion Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz are considered the favourites to win the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
So far, there has been little evidence to think otherwise.
Alcaraz, who won the first major of his career by triumphing at the US Open last year, again showed his ability on the clay by winning back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid.
While the world number one had a blip when he lost to Hungarian qualifier in Rome last month, he has looked assured at Roland Garros.
Against Shapovalov, he was dominant from the start and, although he went a break down early in the second, responded by claiming 14 of the next 18 games to win in straight sets.
“I started to make more mistakes but you had to be strong mentally. I had to come back and I did,” Alcaraz said.
“My dream right now is to win every tournament I play in, fighting for Grand Slams, to compete with the guys like Djokovic.
“I want to try to see myself with the best ones and to achieve more titles.”
It was a shock defeat for Russia’s world number seven Rublev, who has reached the quarter-finals in his last three Grand Slam appearances.
World number 48 Sonego, who started to play more aggressively after losing the first two sets, will play 11th seed Karen Khachanov next.
The victory is Sonego’s first against a top-10 player at a Grand Slam, while it is the first time Rublev has been defeated after being 2-0 up.
“I think I played my best tennis this year,” Sonego said. “There was a lot of things in my mind, but I tried to stay focused every point and enjoy the moment.
“I think this is the most difficult win of my career, for sure.”
Earlier on Friday, Russia’s Khachanov came through his third-round match in four sets, beating Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
