Djokovic battles his way into French Open fourth round

Serbian great made to fight for victory on Friday by Davidovich Fokina

Novak Djokovic had to dig deep to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. Getty

Two-times champion Novak Djokovic forced his way into the fourth round of the French Open following a 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Spanish 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday.

Djokovic, who is aiming to leapfrog injured champion Rafa Nadal and win a 23rd Grand Slam title, came into the match at Court Philippe Chatrier having lost to Fokina the last time they met in Monte Carlo.

The 36-year-old Serbian was given an early reminder of his struggles in that 2022 match by Fokina, who had the world No 3 tied up in knots with some heavy hitting and breathtaking drop shots.

Djokovic creaked on serve but hit back when it mattered to level at 3-3 and edged the 83-minute first set with a blistering crosscourt winner that drew huge roars.

A charged-up Djokovic responded to an early break with two of his own but dropped serve again in the wildly swinging second set, before shrugging off three double faults at 5-5 and a time violation to double his advantage in another tiebreak.

He called the trainer onto the court for an apparent left leg issue, sparking fears the injury that accompanied his run to the Australian Open title in January had returned, but pulled away in the third set and crossed the finish line in style.

Meanwhile, Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka refused to do an official post-match press conference after her French Open match, claiming she "did not feel safe" when previously questioned about the war in Ukraine.

The world No 2 has faced numerous questions about the Russia-Ukraine conflict; Belarus is a military ally of Russia.

Sabalenka said Roland Garros organisers had supported her decision not to undertake traditional press duties, instead speaking to a group of selected media following her third-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova.

"For many months now I have answered these questions at tournaments and been very clear in my feelings and my thoughts," said Sabalenka.

"These questions do not bother me after my matches. I know that I have to provide answers to the media on things not related to my tennis or my matches, but on Wednesday I did not feel safe in press conference.

"I should be able to feel safe when I do interviews with the journalists after my matches. For my own mental health and well-being, I have decided to take myself out of this situation today."