Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal secure dominant wins to reach French Open fourth round

Serbian and Spaniard come through in straight sets, while Svitolina becomes latest big name to exit tournament in women's draw

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The National
Jun 05, 2021
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World No 1 Novak Djokovic and reigning champion Rafael Nadal made short work of their respective third-round opponents in the French Open on Saturday.

Djokovic produced a dominant performance to sweep aside 93rd-ranked Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 32 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier and is yet to lose a set in three matches.

Nadal proved too strong for unseeded British opponent Cameron Norrie, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 at Roland Garros. The Spaniard beat Djokovic in last year's final and the pair remain on course to meet in the semi-finals this time round.

Djokovic broke Berankis six times in Paris and such was his control that he did not face a single breakpoint on his own serve.

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It means the 34-year-old Serbian becomes the first man in the Open era to reach the fourth round for a 12th consecutive year and stays on course for a 19th Grand Slam title.

He faces 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti next after the World No 76 reached the last 16 on his Slam debut.

Musetti smashed 50 winners past compatriot Marco Cecchinato on his way to a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

"I think Lorenzo is very nice, first of all, very nice kid. I really like how he plays. He's got a really all-around game," said Djokovic.

"I know very much so that he is a big challenge to me. So there is no question I have to go out playing on a high level because he will not have much to lose.

"I'm sure he's going to come out and really try to play the tennis of his life playing on one of the two big courts."

Relentless Nadal, meanwhile, cruised into the last 16 for the 16th time and extended his winning run on the clay-courts Grand Slam to a remarkable 30 sets in a row.

World No 45 Norrie battled gamely against the third seed, even breaking Nadal twice in the second set, but the 35-year-old went on to seal victory in a shade over two hours.

Nadal will now face Italian 19-year-old Jannik Sinner, who defeated the unseeded Mikail Ymer of Sweden 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.

Argentina's Diego Schwartzman powered past Philipp Kohlschreiber after completing a 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 demolition job on the German, meaning the 10th seed has yet to drop a set in this year's competition.

He will now go up against the German Jan-Lennard Struff who eased past Carlos Alcaraz Garfia 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.

In the women's draw, Elina Svitolina became the latest big name to exit the tournament after the fifth seed was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Barbora Krejcikova. "I am super happy, most of my shots were amazing," said the Czech.

Svitolina's loss means four of the top five seeds are already out, with the Ukrainian outplayed by her opponent, who will now take on Sloane Stephens for a place in the quarter-finals.

The American eased past 18th seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to earn her spot in the next round. "Obviously one of my favourite tournaments of the year, so peaking here has always been really important," said Stephens.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek came through a testing first set to then ease past No 30 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

The eighth seed from Poland, who has now won 20 consecutive sets at Roland Garros, completed a 7-6, 6-0 victory.

Fourth seed Sofia Kenin – who lost to Swiatek in last year's final – fought back from losing the opening set to defeat Jessica Pugula in an all-American clash.

The 2020 Australian Open winner recovered from a slow start to overcome the 28th seed 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a mixed display that featured 48 winners, 41 unforced errors and 10 double faults.

"I was obviously really happy. It was a tough match. It was a lot of ups and downs, emotions," Kenin said after the win. "I'm just really happy with the way I'm playing."

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur produced a brilliant recovery to come back from a set down and beat Magda Linette of Austria 3-6, 6-0, 6-1.

French OpenTennisNovak DjokovicRafael Nadal
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