Djokovic beats Fokina to reach the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the 14th year in a row

Novak Djokovic needed two tie-breaks but also 3.5 hours before bending the resistance of the superb Alejandro Davidovic Fokina 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-2 and qualifying for the “16” secured by Roland Garros for the 14th time in a row.

However, for the Serb to reach 88 wins (88-16) in Paris, he had to go through difficult paths given to him by Fokina, especially in the first two sets, with Djokovic finding solutions and strength to emerge victorious.

Djokovic finished the match with 27 winners and 38 unforced errors, breaking 7 times on serve for the Spaniard (7/17), who in turn had 34 winners, 51 unforced errors but also two fewer breaks than his opponent (5/8).

In the first set of… 85 minutes, Fokina twice went ahead with a break (3-2, 6-5), but both times Djokovic had the answer (3-3, 6-6) and led the game to the end tiebreak. There, Fokina initially managed to get a mini-break (3/1), but again Djokovic found a way to avoid the worst and with an impressive 6/1 series, he made the set and 1-0.

Djokovic needed exactly the same amount of time to conquer the 2nd set, in which Fokina found the first break again (2-0). From there Djokovic played the next three games (3-2) and scored two breaks but failed to catch the second one as Fokina drew the game 3-3.

The Serb “hit” again with a break at the end of the set to take a 5-4 lead, but the Spaniard responded just as Djokovic served to win, equalizing the set again (5-5).

Once again a tie-breaker ensued between the two rivals, with Djokovic taking a 4/1 lead, but Fokina responding with 4 straight points to a score of 5/4. However, that was also the last point in the set for the Spaniard and Djokovic won the next 3 points plus the 2nd set to lead 2-0 amid wild celebrations.

In the third set, Djokovic laid the groundwork from the start by winning the first three games (3-0), a lead he kept until the end, where he closed the game with another break and thus another qualification in his career in Paris.

In the 4th round the opponent from Hubert Hurkac’s fight with Juan Pablo Varillas awaits him.