A dispirited Coco Gauff was forced to digest a seventh straight loss to Iga Swiatek as the defending champion progressed to another French Open semi-final.

The pair had met in the final 12 months ago, with Gauff winning just four games, and the American had not won a set in their six previous clashes.

The statistic remains and, although Gauff had some success with a new game plan and pushed the world number one in a 6-4 6-2 defeat, that was of little consolation.

“Obviously you lose to someone seven times, you feel crappy,” said Gauff, who struggled to hold back tears.

“It’s not fun at all but also, every time I play her, I’m not thinking about the previous record. If I go in believing that I lost the match before it already happens then I’m never going to win.

“But obviously when it’s over, yeah, it does suck.”

Gauff came out with different tactics to last year’s final, testing Swiatek with high, slower balls to her backhand and trying not to allow the top seed to get into a rhythm.

Gauff’s big opportunity came in the third game of the second set when she created three break points – the third after drilling a point-blank backhand at Swiatek at the net, sending the Pole tumbling to the clay as she tried to avoid it.

Gauff swiftly apologised, but it was Swiatek who had the last laugh as the American fired shots long on each of her opportunities.

“I think a lot of the points I lost were off really small details,” said the teenager. “The game in the third set I had an opportunity to go up 40-0 and then also I was up 40-15 on her serve and missed two returns. That’s on my end.”

Gauff was unrepentant about hitting Swiatek, saying: “I didn’t try to hit her. I was just trying to hit the ball hard in the middle of the court, and it happened to hit her.

“I apologised after but I think she knows that’s part of the game. If you hit a bad ball and you decide to run to the net, there’s always a risk that you get hit.”

The Pole did not react at the time, and said later: “I don’t really know if that was her only option or not but I know Coco is a nice person and she wouldn’t mean it. Nothing personal. It happens.”

Swiatek extended her record at Roland Garros to 26-2 as she chases a third title in four years and she has only lost 15 games in five matches so far.

While she is a clear favourite to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen again, Swiatek does not want to take an all-or-nothing approach.

“It’s never like that, honestly, especially at a grand slam,” she said. “I’m pretty happy to be in the semi-final again at Roland Garros. It’s a great achievement no matter how the tournament is going to finish.

“Especially coming into the tournament as a defending champion, it puts a lot of pressure on you. I’m really happy I can show consistency and just play good here every year.”

In the last four, Swiatek will face a player who has taken a much more scenic route in 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who defeated Ons Jabeur to become the first Brazilian woman to reach the French Open semi-finals in the open era.

After battling for nearly four hours to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the fourth round, she found herself with work to do after losing the opening set to seventh seed Jabeur but fought back impressively to win 3-6 7-6 (5) 6-1.

Haddad Maia has spent nearly 13 hours on court in reaching the last four, more than twice as long as Swiatek, who she beat in their only previous meeting in Toronto last summer.

The 27-year-old is a late bloomer having struggled with injuries and then served a 10-month doping ban – she successfully argued she had inadvertently taken a banned substance in a contaminated supplement – and this is her first time beyond the second round of a slam.

Haddad Maia said: “I think a tennis match is like a marathon. It’s not a 100 metres race. I think one of my qualities is that I wait and I’m very patient and I never give up.”

It was a disappointing loss for seventh seed Jabeur, who seemed in control of the match until the second-set tie-break.

The Tunisian managed to be happy for her opponent, though, saying: “She’s a beast and I wish her all the best. I feel like my story and her story are a little bit similar. I’m very happy for her and for Brazil, and hopefully she can do much more for her country.”

Jabeur is now targeting a first slam title at Wimbledon having lost in the final last summer.

“I’m hoping to go and get the title really in Wimbledon,” she said. “I’m dreaming about it. It’s something that I always wanted.”

Carlos Alcaraz is relishing the chance to take on Novak Djokovic for a place in the French Open final, according to his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The hotly-anticipated clash will take place at Roland Garros on Friday after both moved through to the last four without dropping a set.

It is a fascinating battle of the generations, with 36-year-old Djokovic chasing a record-breaking 23rd grand slam title and Alcaraz, 16 years his junior, a second.

Ferrero knows what it takes to win on the Parisian clay having lifted the title in 2003 and he feels his man is ready to topple Djokovic.

“I think both players are maybe the best in the world right now,” said the Spaniard.

“Novak has the experience to play these kind of matches more than Carlos, of course, but, at the same time, Carlos really wants to play that match. He was really looking forward to that match since the beginning.

“Of course, he had to play match by match and we were very patient about it. But I think he is ready.

“He practised for these kind of matches. He practises for these kind of moments to be there and try to make history step by step.

“He wants to do it but of course we really know that Novak is going to give absolutely his best. I think he is going to fight until the last ball and he is going to prepare for the match as well as we can do.

“So we expect a really tough and close match. Carlos believes a lot in himself and he believes that he can beat Novak.”

That belief has been evident since the moment Alcaraz burst onto the global stage.

He swatted aside Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals on Tuesday evening with a display of all-court brilliance.

He can take confidence, meanwhile, from having beaten Djokovic in their only previous match, on clay in Madrid last spring, when he also defeated Rafael Nadal.

“He dreams very big about what he can do, so I think it’s one of the most important things that he believes in himself and that he believes that he can go to the court and win against everybody,” said Ferrero.

The pair have worked together since September 2018 and it has proved the dream partnership so far, with Ferrero helping the 20-year-old to hone his incredible natural talents.

“I’m impressed obviously about his level, but I’m with him now almost five years, so I know the level he’s able to play,” said the former world number one.

“So in that way, I’m not impressed at all because I know that he can play like this. The most impressive thing for me is that he is showing his best level against the best. That’s the most important thing.”

Iga Swiatek maintained her unbeaten record against Coco Gauff in their French Open rematch to move through to the semi-finals.

The pair had met in the final 12 months ago, with Gauff winning just four games, and the American had not won a set in their six previous clashes.

The statistic remains, although Gauff at least pushed the world number one in a 6-4 6-2 defeat, and will feel she might have done better.

The 19-year-old was unable to take the few chances she had to gain the ascendancy, particularly in the second set, and Swiatek made her pay.

The top seed has lost only 15 games in five matches, and she said: “I haven’t spent much time on court so I’m happy that today was a tighter match.”

Gauff came out with different tactics to last year’s final, testing Swiatek with high, slower balls to her backhand and trying not to allow the top seed to get into a rhythm.

It worked well to a point, with Gauff quickly retrieving an early break, but Swiatek stepped up her level to clinch the set with a brilliant returning game.

Gauff’s big opportunity came in the third game of the second set when she created three break points – the third after drilling a point-blank backhand at Swiatek at the net, sending the Pole tumbling to the clay as she tried to avoid it.

Gauff swiftly apologised, but it was Swiatek who had the last laugh as the American fired shots long on each of her opportunities.

And that would prove to be the last opening, with the two-time champion winning four games in a row to book her spot in the last four once again.

There Swiatek will face Beatriz Haddad Maia, who came from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur and become the first Brazilian woman to reach the French Open semi-finals in the open era.

After battling for nearly four hours to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the fourth round, the 14th seed again found herself with work to do after losing the opening set to seventh seed Jabeur.

A very tight second went to a tie-break, which Haddad Maia took, and the Brazilian ran away with the decider to win 3-6 7-6 (5) 6-1.

Haddad Maia, 27, looked utterly stunned at the moment of victory, having never previously gone beyond the fourth round at a slam.

Her results away from the majors have been very impressive, though, and she will hope to follow in the footsteps of Brazilian grand slam champions Gustavo Kuerten and Maria Bueno.

Beatriz Haddad Maia came from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur and become the first Brazilian woman to reach the French Open semi-finals in the open era.

After battling for nearly four hours to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the fourth round, the 14th seed again found herself with work to do after losing the opening set to seventh seed Jabeur.

A very tight second went to a tie-break, which Haddad Maia took, and the Brazilian ran away with the decider to win 3-6 7-6 (5) 6-1.

Haddad Maia, 27, looked utterly stunned at the moment of victory, having never previously gone beyond the fourth round at a slam.

Her results away from the majors have been very impressive, though, and she will hope to follow in the footsteps of Brazilian grand slam champions Gustavo Kuerten and Maria Bueno.

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will face each other in a blockbuster French Open semi-final on Friday.

Djokovic had to battle from a set down to defeat Russian Karen Khachanov while Alcaraz produced a show under the lights in a 6-2 6-1 7-6 (5) victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Aryna Sabalenka continued her unbeaten grand slam run by beating Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-4 to set up a last-four clash with Karolina Muchova.

Picture of the dayTweet of the dayQuote of the dayShot of the dayStat of the dayInsulin row

Alexander Zverev revealed last year that he was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of three. The German is unhappy that he has not been allowed to inject himself with insulin on court in Paris, telling German reporters: “They said it looks weird when I do this on court. But this is not a clever take because, if I don’t do it, my life will be in danger.”

Fallen seeds

Men: Karen Khachanov (11)

Women: None

Who’s up next?

Defending champion Iga Swiatek takes on Coco Gauff in a repeat of last year’s final as the quarter-finals continue in Paris.

The winner of the clash will take on either seventh seed Ons Jabeur or Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last four.

In the men’s draw, there is also a rematch, with Casper Ruud and Holger Rune doing battle again after their fiery encounter 12 months ago, while Alexander Zverev meets surprise package Tomas Etcheverry.

Carlos Alcaraz demolished Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up a mouth-watering French Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic on Friday.

The prospective clash was immediately highlighted when the draw was made 12 days ago and had appeared inevitable as both men progressed through the rounds.

Both have dropped only one set but, while Djokovic had to fight back from a set down to beat Karen Khachanov on Tuesday, Alcaraz swatted aside fifth seed Tsitsipas 6-2 6-1 7-6 (5) in the night session.

The world number one said: “Believing in myself all the time, I’d say that’s the most important thing. I always feel I’m going to play this kind of matches at this level.

“I lost my focus a little bit at the end of the third set, I had a couple of match points. He started to play I would say better. I was in trouble but I’m really happy to overcome that problem, still playing a great level, believing that I was going to win the third set.”

Alcaraz and Djokovic have played only once before, with the Spaniard winning in Madrid last year, and he said: “This match everyone wants to watch. I would say it’s going to be a really good match to play and to watch. I really wanted to play this match. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.”

On paper this appeared the toughest test for Alcaraz so far but he had won all four previous meetings against Tsitsipas, including in Barcelona in April, and was in total control from the start.

He was better in every aspect and Tsitsipas, who had won all six of his previous slam quarter-finals, simply had no answer to Alcaraz’s all-round wizardry, with winners flying past him and drop shots catching him out time and again.

The Greek did not play badly in the opening set but still had his serve broken twice and he appeared to grow increasingly demoralised in the second, where he won only 13 points.

The crowd were torn between admiring the flamboyant brilliance of Alcaraz and wanting a contest, and they responded to Tsitsipas’ call for encouragement when he finally won a game at 0-3 in the third set.

Alcaraz threatened to be held up more by a Mexican wave than his opponent but Tsitsipas did at least provide a late challenge, saving two match points at 2-5 and then breaking the 20-year-old for the first time when he served for victory.

A third match point came and went as Tsitsipas forced a tie-break, where he saved a fourth and fifth, but on his sixth chance Alcaraz converted.

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will meet in a rematch of last year’s French Open final.

The pair both moved through to the quarter-finals, with Gauff beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Swiatek leading 5-1 when Lesia Tsurenko retired through illness.

There will also be a rematch between Holger Rune and Casper Ruud, who engaged in a fiery battle in the last eight a year ago, while Alexander Zverev continued his strong form in the night session with victory over Grigor Dimitrov.

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Former top-10 player Carla Suarez Navarro announced the birth of twins.

Stat of the dayFallen seeds

Men: Francisco Cerundolo (23), Yoshihito Nishioka (27), Grigor Dimitrov (28)
Women: None

Who’s up next?

 

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Aryna Sabalenka takes on Elina Svitolina in the highest-profile clash between a Belarusian or Russian athlete and a Ukrainian since the war began.

The night session sees the biggest clash of the men’s tournament so far between top seed Carlos Alcaraz and former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Novak Djokovic takes on Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov while Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova meets Karolina Muchova in an all-unseeded match.

Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray to win the French Open for the first time at Roland Garros on this day in 2016, handing Murray his eighth Grand Slam final loss.

The 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory meant Djokovic became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to be the holder of all four titles at the same time.

It was the Serb’s 12th Grand Slam victory and moved him to within five titles of Roger Federer’s record of 17.

For Murray it was the fifth time in those eight losses that he had lost out to Djokovic, with the pair first having met when Murray was just 11.

“It’s a very special moment,” said Djokovic. “Perhaps the biggest of my career.”

He had lost out in the final of the 2015 edition to Stan Wawrinka, despite having overcome Rafael Nadal in the last four.

“To Novak, this is his day,” said Murray, who was the first British man in 79 years to reach the final in Paris before finally going down in the fourth set.

“What he’s achieved the last 12 months is phenomenal, winning all four of the Grand Slams in one year is an amazing achievement and this is something that is so rare in tennis.

“It’s going to take a long time for it to happen again.

“Everyone here is extremely lucky to see it. Me personally, being on the opposite side, it sucks to lose the match but I’m proud to be part of today.”

Elina Svitolina will take on Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open quarter-finals after continuing her brilliant return to grand slam tennis by beating Daria Kasatkina.

Svitolina will be the second Ukrainian opponent faced by Belarusian Sabalenka, who recovered from losing a 5-0 lead in the first set to beat Sloane Stephens 7-6 (5) 6-4 in the first night session women’s match.

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz continued their march towards a probable semi-final meeting with identical 6-3 6-2 6-2 victories – Djokovic over Juan Pablo Varillas and Alcaraz against Lorenzo Musetti.

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Djokovic had some help warming up for his match from his eight-year-old son Stefan.

Stat of the dayGreat Danes

The past and the present of Danish tennis met at Roland Garros on Sunday. Caroline Wozniacki is now a mother of two and is playing in a slam legends event for the first time.

Fallen seeds

Men: Lorenzo Musetti (17)
Women: Daria Kasatkina (9), Elise Mertens (28)

Who’s up next?

 

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Victories for Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff on Monday would set up a rematch of last year’s final.

Swiatek takes on Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, who will be looking to join Svitolina in the last eight, while Gauff meets Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

In the men’s event, fourth seed Casper Ruud meets Nicolas Jarry and sixth seed Holger Rune plays Francisco Cerundolo, while Alexander Zverev features in the night session again, this time up against Grigor Dimitrov.

New mother Elina Svitolina continued her incredible grand slam return by defeating Daria Kasatkina to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open.

The Ukrainian gave birth to daughter Skai in October and played her first tournament in more than a year at the beginning of April.

She arrived in Paris on the back of a WTA title in Strasbourg and, watched by husband Gael Monfils, extended her winning run to eight matches with a 6-4 7-6 (5) success against ninth seed Kasatkina.

“Definitely I wouldn’t dream about this when I was giving birth in October last year,” said Svitolina.

“It’s unbelievable for me to be able to compete here and to get to the quarter-final is special. Hopefully I can push further. I’m really motivated to give my everything for the next matches.”

The former world number three, who can match her best ever grand slam run by making the semi-finals, overcame nerves at the end, twice failing to serve it out, before clinching victory in a tie-break.

Svitolina spent four years in the top 10 and is enjoying being able to play without so much expectation, saying: “I think this is one of the things that I noticed that right now I don’t have that pressure that I used to have before.

“Of course, me personally I put pressure for myself because I want to win a slam. This is the ultimate goal for me.

“But definitely not the pressure from outside. No one expects that I’m going to come into Roland Garros and make quarter-final at the beginning of the tournament.

“That’s why I feel like this really helps me. I feel almost like I’m 17 again coming on the tour fresh. I’m not defending any points. Not here, not next week. I feel more free.”

Kasatkina has been the most outspoken Russian player against the invasion of Ukraine and earned praise from Svitolina ahead of the contest.

 

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She knew Svitolina would stick to the Ukrainians’ policy of not shaking hands with Belarusian and Russian opponents, though, and gave a quick thumbs-up before heading straight to her chair.

One Russian is through to the last eight, with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova arguably even more of a surprise than Svitolina.

The 31-year-old achieved the best result of her career here two years ago by reaching the final but underwent knee surgery last year and is ranked down at 333.

She recently lost 6-0 6-0 to Iga Swiatek in Rome but took out her third seed of the week with a 3-6 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory over Elise Mertens.

“I had a fear and doubts that maybe I will never win a match again,” said Pavlyuchenkova. “Maybe I will never get my good form back or I will never be fit again. What if I start playing again and the pain comes back and my knee is bad again?

“But I guess this motivation and this desire of coming back and competing again and being on these big stages again and playing three-hour matches like today, there was a lot more weight on that. So that kind of pushed me.

“I believed, I worked so hard and, even with all the failures that I had this year – and there were sometimes ridiculous matches that I lost – still kept on believing, working hard, and just persistence and patience.”

Pavlyuchenkova will next meet Czech Karolina Muchova, who reached her first French Open quarter-final with a 6-4 6-3 win over Elina Avanesyan.

Novak Djokovic surpassed Rafael Nadal’s all-time record by reaching his 17th French Open quarter-final.

The 22-time grand slam champion defeated Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3 6-2 6-2 to maintain his run of not having lost before the last eight at Roland Garros since 2010 and set up a clash with 11th seed Karen Khachanov.

Djokovic is still 12 Paris titles behind Nadal though, and, with the Spaniard missing for the first time since 2004, his great rival knows what an opportunity this is.

He said: “I’m proud of it, but my attention is already on the next match. Obviously quarter-finals, Khachanov, I know what my goal is here. I’m trying to stay mentally the course and of course not look too far.

“Obviously the performance of today gives me a great deal of confidence about how I felt, about how I played. So I’m looking forward to the next match.”

Peruvian Varillas, ranked 94, has enjoyed the best week of his career but he had needed five sets to get through all three of his previous matches and was unable to trouble Djokovic.

The third seed had been pushed extremely hard by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his previous match and struggled physically, so this was a very welcome easy afternoon.

Djokovic raced into a 4-0 lead and the only time he looked in any discomfort was when Varillas won two games in a row and forced a break point in the next one.

The third seed, who criticised the crowd for booing while he took a medical time-out in his previous match, was again jeered for his reaction and cupped his hand to his ear after winning the next-but-one point.

There were plenty of cheers at the end, though, as Djokovic wrapped up the victory after an hour and 57 minutes.

He said of the crowd: “I thought they were great, especially at the end. They gave me a very nice chanting and support and, as a player, you always want to receive that love from the crowd.”

A semi-final blockbuster against Carlos Alcaraz is looming ever closer, and the Spaniard continued to look every inch a potential champion in a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory over Lorenzo Musetti.

The 21-year-old Italian is a big talent, especially on clay, and this was a crowd-pleasing encounter, with Alcaraz pulling off several shots through his legs.

Ultimately it was a straightforward win, though, as world number one Alcaraz, who missed the Australian Open through injury, stayed on track for a second successive grand slam title.

Khachanov is bidding to reach the semi-finals at a third straight major tournament and he recovered from a poor first set to beat Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 1-6 6-4 7-6 (7) 6-1.

A doubles pair were defaulted from the French Open on Sunday after Japanese player Miyu Kato hit a ball girl in the head with a ball.

Kato and her Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi, the 16th seeds, were leading Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (1) 1-3 in the third round of the women’s doubles when the Japanese player hit the ball down to the other end of the court at the end of a point.

Unaware that the ball was coming, the ball girl was struck directly on the head and began crying.

The umpire originally gave Kato a warning but, with Czech Bouzkova and Spaniard Sorribes Tormo pointing out the girl’s distress, the supervisor and referee were called to Court 14.

Kato apologised to the ball girl and lengthy discussions took place before the decision was made to disqualify the pair, who appeared incredulous, amid booing from the crowd.

The incident comes a day after 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva admitted she feared she would be defaulted after she angrily swiped a ball into the crowd during her singles match with Coco Gauff.

It is three years, meanwhile, since Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the US Open after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball swatted away in annoyance.

British interest in singles at the French Open ended after Cameron Norrie lost meekly to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round, castigating his attitude and performance in a 6-1 6-2 6-4 defeat.

Novak Djokovic survived the longest three-set match of his grand slam career, battling past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in three hours and 36 minutes, while Carlos Alcaraz had a much easier time against Denis Shapovalov.

In the women’s event, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka reached round four for the first time but third seed Jessica Pegula is out.

Picture of the dayTweet of the day

Naomi Osaka and boyfriend Cordae are expecting a girl.

Shot of the dayStat of the day

A disastrous first week for the home country, who began with 28 players in the main singles draws.

Fritz earns Mac approval

Not surprisingly, Taylor Fritz’s baiting of the French crowd in his late-night win over Arthur Rinderknech was right up John McEnroe’s street. “I like to see a little confrontation,” said Eurosport pundit McEnroe. The booing was so loud that the on-court interview was limited to one question.

China return

The WTA announced earlier this year that it would be ending its boycott of China over the Peng Shuai affair. Details of the autumn calendar have now been announced, with seven tournaments taking place in the country, including the WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

Fallen seeds

Men: Andrey Rublev (7), Hubert Hurkacz (13), Cameron Norrie (14), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29).
Women: Jessica Pegula (3), Anastasia Potapova (24), Irina-Camelia Begu (27).

Who’s up next?

The boot will be on the other foot for 19-year-old Coco Gauff when she takes on Russian Mirra Andreeva, three years her junior, in the third round on Saturday. Defending champion Iga Swiatek meets Wang Xinyu of China while fourth seed Elena Rybakina plays Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo. The night session again features a men’s match – Alexander Zverev up against Frances Tiafoe – while Casper Ruud and Holger Rune are also in action.

Cameron Norrie criticised his own attitude and performance after his French Open campaign ended with a straight-sets loss to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.

It is the third year in a row the British number one has fallen in the last 32, and he only managed to mount any real challenge in the third set before going down 6-1 6-2 6-4.

There is certainly no disgrace in losing to 21-year-old Musetti, who is ranked only five places below Norrie and whose best surface is clay, but the 14th seed was hugely disappointed by the manner of what is one of his worst grand slam losses in terms of scoreline.

The result, meanwhile, brings an end to British singles hopes at a tournament where only three players even made the start line.

“I came out very flat and I’m disappointed with the attitude in the first couple of sets,” said a very downbeat Norrie.

“It was very, very slow conditions, very heavy, and I was not prepared for it to be that slow. For me, I can play bad and everything, but I was just very flat and disappointed to have a performance like that.

“The first two sets he didn’t really do too much and he was up two sets to love. For a player like myself, I can’t afford to give that much of an edge.

“There is no excuses to play the level that I did today. I missed so many easy short balls and I lost so many points within a couple of shots where usually I can win a lot of those ones.

“I didn’t come prepared. I was changing rackets throughout the match. It was a bit colder today but I’m good enough to not let that bother me.”

Norrie lost to Musetti in Barcelona recently but spoke positively after his second-round victory over Lucas Pouille about what he had learned from that clash.

He was immediately on the back foot, though, dropping serve in the opening game against the stylish Italian and swiftly losing the opening set.

The second was no better, with Musetti too often finding an answer to everything Norrie could throw at him, and the 17th seed went a break up early in the third as well.

Norrie was staring at his worst slam loss but he at least made a fist of it, breaking Musetti, who had lost from two sets up on both of his previous appearances at Roland Garros, back and creating two chances to break for 5-3.

The Italian held firm, though, and drilled a forehand past Norrie to break again before serving out the victory.

Norrie is known for a relentless work ethic and never-say-die attitude so to hear him talk about a lack of preparation and unwillingness to stay in points is certainly concerning.

The 27-year-old has maintained a relentless schedule to help him get to and then stay at the top of the game so it would be understandable if he felt mentally fatigued, but he dismissed the suggestion.

“I’ve played a lot of matches,” he said. “I think I can use that to my advantage. I’ve played more matches maybe than anyone else on the tour in the last maybe three years. I can say that’s a good thing.

“And then even going into this match today, I was thinking I’ve won more matches than Musetti this year, I’ve won bigger matches than him. I think I’m playing better than him on the clay. I was really confident going into it.”

Norrie will now head back to London and turn his attention to the grass-court swing a year on from his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Novak Djokovic  admitted he is dealing with a number of physical problems after fighting off a terrific challenge from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the fourth round of the French Open for a 14th consecutive year.

The 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5) 6-2 victory took three hours and 36 minutes, with Djokovic twice a break down in the first set and forced to save a set point in the second.

The 22-time grand-slam champion looked unsettled in windy conditions, while he called the trainer before the third set to have his left thigh massaged, but, as he so often does, he found a way to come out on top.

Asked about the medical time-out, Djokovic said: “We don’t have much time to start to name the many injuries I have, and the list is quite long.

“I still kept on playing. These are the circumstances that you, as a professional athlete, have to deal with. Accept it. Sometimes you need help from (a) physio during the match. Sometimes you need pills. Sometimes you need help from the god or angels, or whoever.

“The reality for me nowadays is that my body is responding differently than it did a few years ago. I managed to finish the match.”

Djokovic, who again wore a nanotechnology device on his chest, had struggled in his opening set against Marton Fucsovics on Wednesday before breezing through the next two, and it quickly became clear Spaniard Davidovich Fokina would offer a real test.

The 23-year-old, ranked 34, saw a break for 3-2 swiftly erased but moved ahead again to lead 6-5 after Djokovic double-faulted three times and was given a time violation.

Again, Davidovich Fokina was unable to serve it out, though, and Djokovic made him pay for the wasted opportunities by winning a tie-break.

This time the challenge very much continued in the second set as the pair exchanged breaks of serve three times, with Djokovic unable to clinch it at 5-4.

Davidovich Fokina had one chance to level the match in Djokovic’s next service game but he could not take it and the Serbian again came out on top in a tie-break.

Djokovic let his emotions out, roaring and fist-pumping, but the toll the effort had taken became clear when he called the trainer, applying ice to his left thigh and gesturing sarcastically towards the crowd.

Djokovic looked distinctly uncomfortable at times in the third set but he forged ahead early on and did not let Davidovich Fokina back in, giving a weary celebration when the Spaniard’s resistance finally ran out.

“I knew that it’s going to be a very difficult match, a very physical match,” said Djokovic.

“He contested very, very well. He’s an amazing fighter, amazing player. Congratulations to him for fighting. Bad luck but he played a great match.

“Of course a win is a win, maybe a little bit too much, three hours for two sets. I thought, if I would lose the second set, we’d probably play for five hours.

“But you have to be ready. It takes a lot of effort but we all have to believe in ourselves. I’m proud of the performance today for sure.”

The behaviour of the crowd has come under the spotlight this week, with boos frequently ringing around Roland Garros.

Of his own reaction while he received treatment, Djokovic said: “I think the majority of the people come to enjoy tennis or support one or the other player. But there are people, groups or whatever, that love to boo every single thing you do.

 

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“That’s something that I find disrespectful and I frankly don’t understand that. But it’s their right. They paid the ticket.

 

“Actually 99 per cent of the time I will stay quiet. Sometimes I will oppose that because I feel, when somebody is disrespectful, he or she deserves to have an answer to that.”

It was another day of long matches, with Italian Lorenzo Sonego fighting back from two sets down to defeat seventh seed Andrey Rublev, while Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner saw off Fabio Fognini in five sets.

After his epic victory over Stan Wawrinka, Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis was involved in another lengthy battle with 11th seed Karen Khachanov but was unable to force a decider, losing 6-4 6-1 3-6 7-6 (5).

Russian Khachanov declined to answer questions about the war in Ukraine afterwards, saying: “I am a sportsman, I am not a politician. I don’t want to talk here about politics because, first of all, I am not good at it. And, second of all, it’s not my job.”

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