NEW DELHI: Novak Djokovic was made to work hard by Spanish 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina before the two-time champion made his way into the fourth round of the French Open following a 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-2 win on Friday.
It was sort of revenge for Djokovic as Davidovich Fokina emerged victorious the last time the two players met in Monte Carlo. The third seed Djokovic, who reached the French Open last 16 for a 14th successive year, is aiming to leapfrog injured champion Rafael Nadal and win a 23rd Grand Slam title.

Djokovic has now won three of his four matches with Davidovich Fokina.
The 36-year-old Serbian was given an early reminder of his struggles in that 2022 match by the man-bun sporting Davidovich Fokina, who had the world number three tied up in knots with some heavy hitting and breathtaking drop shots.
“A win is a win, maybe a bit too much — the first two sets,” said Djokovic. “I thought if I lost the second set we would play five hours today, but I’m proud of the performance.”

Djokovic creaked on serve but hit back when it mattered to level at 3-3 and edged the 83-minute first set with a blistering crosscourt winner that drew huge roars.
A charged-up Djokovic responded to an early break with two of his own but dropped serve again in the wildly swinging second set, before shrugging off three double faults at 5-5 and a time violation to double his advantage in another tiebreak.

He called the trainer onto the court for an apparent left leg issue, sparking fears the injury that accompanied his run to the Australian Open title in January had returned, but pulled away in the third set and crossed the finish line in style.
(With Agency Inputs)