Novak Djokovic has reached the round of 16 at the French Open. In the third round the Serb wins in four sets against the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.
Novak Djokovic, Roland Garros winner in 2016, seems to have just come in time to stand up to his critics this year.
In the third game in Paris, the ex-number-one did not show any nakedness and played against the strong Spaniard Bautista Agut with self-confidence and great physique. Especially against Bautista Agut, Djokvic had to be in full possession of his strength, as the Spaniard is known as an endurance package and sand court player.
However, Djokovic took the fight for the eighth-final ticket right from the start and did not let anything burn, especially when it came to exploiting the chances. Both players acted on a high level and gave the spectators a great fight.
Bautista Agut wobbled in the opening set at the decisive moment and lost his serve to lead the set 6-4 for the “Djoker”. Round two also started well for Djokovic and quickly took the lead with a break and 3-0.
However, Bautista Agut showed taker qualities, regained the break and forced a tiebreak. There Djokovic made too many mistakes and the Spaniard could equal the score with a tight 8:6 in the sets.
The audience got to see a real break festival in round number three. Both players wobbled in their own service and took three breaks each. So the third set was also decided only in the tiebreak. The “Djoker” showed a strong nerves of steel and took the lead again with a 7:4 lead.
The set win in the tiebreak seemed to set further forces free for the Serbian and Djokovic subsequently acted even more aggressively and consistently from the baseline. Bautista Agut could not withstand the pressure of his opponent and finally had to admit defeat after almost four hours of play.
With 6:4, 6:7 (6), 7:6 (4) and 6:2 Djokovic is in the round of 16 and has to prove as already in the preliminary rounds that he can be expected.