When French tennis is brooding with the disappearance on Saturday of its last representatives in both tables, Novak Djokovic arrives, launched like a bullet in the second week of the Parisian tournament. The Serb has left only a few crumbs for his opponents since the start of the tournament: four games, four wins in three sets and only eight hours and a few trifles spent on the courts. The statistics are staggering. And the valiant Diego Schwartzman, who went through the Serbian grinder on Sunday on the Suzanne-Lenglen court, in just over two hours (6-1, 6-3, 6-3) despite a jump in the second set, where he was able to take the service of his opponent before folding, was no exception to the rule against the world No. 1 in the game perfectly in place.
“Nole”, who has only missed the second week meeting once in his career (in 2009), will thus play his 16th quarter-final since 2006 in Paris. The Belgrade metronome, thirsty for titles after his incredible exclusion from the Australian Open at the start of the year, seems better equipped than ever to go and pick up a 20th Grand Slam victory and thus pick up his best enemy, in the absence of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal (21 titles) that he expects for an explosive quarter-final. A final before the hour.
But it will still be necessary for the Mallorcan to get rid of the threat Auger-Alliassime (world no. 9), his first big test of the fortnight. At 7:30 p.m., a “Rafa” with two faces was still scrapping on the Philippe-Chatrier court against the talented Canadian, finally performing on Parisian clay (3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-5). “I am ready for each of these two opponents. I like how I feel, how I felt so far, how I hit the ball, how I focused on what I had to do. I appreciate my opportunities against each of them,” he said, sure of his strength.
Like Djokovic, Iga Swiatek continued his flawless run in Paris on Saturday by not dropping, like the Serb, any set since entering the fray. Ultra-favorite, the Polish saw the seeds of the women’s table fall like flies around her, the only survivor of a featherless top 10. A carnage which notably benefits Coco Gauff. The 18-year-old American, the youngest competitor still in the women’s draw, confirmed her status as an underdog and future star of the circuit by outclassing Belgium’s Elise Mertens, 6-4, 6-0 in less than 1 h 30 to invite themselves to the quarter-finals. A succession also embodied by Leylah Fernandez, unfortunate finalist of the US Open 2021 and faller of Amanda Anisimova (6-4, 4-6, 6-3), as happy to have been able to qualify as to have performed under the eyes of Thierry Henry, under the spell of this elegant and sparkling Canadian leaving the court to a standing ovation.
