Djokovic unsinkable, the French off track, Sabalenka intractable… What to remember from Monday

The round of 16 came to an end on Monday at Roland Garros, as did the journey of Varvara Gracheva, the last Frenchwoman competing in singles.

Start of the second week, and continuation of the round of 16, Monday June 3, at Roland-Garros. On the menu for this first sunny day of the fortnight: an unsinkable Novak Djokovic, an intractable Aryna Sabalenka, or even Varvara Gracheva eliminated for her first at this stage of the tournament. The last Frenchwoman on the track, she was unable to do anything against the Russian prodigy, Mirra Andreeva.

Novak Djokovic makes the pleasure last

After the 4h29 of play in the night from Saturday to Sunday against Lorenzo Musetti, Novak Djokovic this time spent 4h39 on the Philippe-Chatrier court on Monday, despite an injury which disrupted him from the second round. It was necessary to overthrow the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, whom the world number one faced for the first time and who had several opportunities to kill the match. Trailing 4-2 in the fourth set (after pocketing the first), Novak Djokovic came very close to elimination. But the 37-year-old Serb has resources.

So, the defending champion rallied to grab the fourth set and get back to two sets everywhere (6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5), before winning the last 6-3, ahead of an audience that gave him wings. “I was maybe three, four points away from losing this match. I don’t know how I found a way to win. The only explanation I have is you “, declared “Nole”, looking at the stands of Central. The Serbian will play his fifteenth quarter-final at Porte d’Auteuil.

It’s over for the Tricolores

The last French representative entered in singles in this Roland-Garros 2024, Varvara Gracheva did not perform a miracle on Monday against the Russian nugget Mirra Andreeva (17 years old). After Corentin Moutet the day before in the men’s draw, Varvara Gracheva was eliminated in the round of 16 (7-5, 6-2) after her best Grand Slam run, at 23 years old. Long in the game in the first set, the player naturalized French in June 2023 broke down at the end of the first round.

If she maintained hope at the start of the second set (2-2), the 88th in the world then suffered the law of the talented Mirra Andreeva (38th), for the first round of 16 by a French player in Paris since 2020 And this, for the first Roland-Garros under the French flag for the Franco-Russian. For her part, Mirra Andreeva, a great friend of Varvara Gracheva, whom she met at the Elite Tennis Center in Cannes, continues her meteoric progress by reaching the quarters in a Major for the first time. She will challenge Aryna Sabalenka, world No. 2, on Wednesday.

Rybakina and Sabalenka meet

In the women’s table, the big names hold their status. And without hanging around. Both on the courts on Monday, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina did not linger under the sun, since they each spent 1h09 on clay. The Belarusian left no chance to the American Emma Navarro (24th), swept aside 6-2, 6-3, to advance for the second time to this stage of the event. All powerful, she outclassed her rival, who had beaten her in March at Indian Wells.

In California, “It was a tough match, so I was ready to fight today, I was prepared for a real battle”, analyzed Sabalenka, who has still not lost a single set since the start of the tournament. A little earlier, Elena Rybakina (world number 4) was just as dominant against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (19th), dismissed 6-4, 6-3, saying she “very happy to [sa] performance” in front of “a fighter (…) always very difficult to play”. The Kazakh, winner of Wimbledon 2022, will face the Italian Jasmine Paolini (15th) on Wednesday.

The force of habit for Casper Ruud

Double reigning finalist of the French Open, Casper Ruud qualified for the quarter-finals for the third consecutive year. For the Oslo metronome, consistency is a virtue that allows him to shine on earth and on the circuit. He needed it to handle Hurricane Taylor Fritz. At first impressive, but unable to conclude the decisive game of the first set which he led 4-0, the American then took control to lead 6-3, 2-1, with a break in his pocket, before sinking , the thigh in marmalade. Winner (7-6 [8-6]3-6, 6-4, 6-2), Casper Ruud will challenge Novak Djokovic in a remake of the 2023 final. But he will be able to count on one advantage: having beaten the Serb for the first time in six duels, during their last clash, in the semi-final of the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo.