By Chris Oddo | Friday June 1, 2018
Novak Djokovic faced a tough opponent in tough conditions and managed to come away with a four-set victory to reach the second week in Paris.
Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Whether Novak Djokovic is well and truly back as a Grand Slam title contender in Paris is yet to be determined, but there can be no denying the fact that the 12-time major champion has taken yet another step towards doing just that by notching a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over No.13-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut on a blustery Friday in Paris.
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“I think it was a great test,” Djokovic said after the victory. “I had to earn my victory. Last set was actually the best set that I have played so far in the tournament."
Djokovic needed three hours and 48 minutes to capture his seventh win in his last eight contests and he set up a round of 16 encounter with a third consecutive Spaniard—this time it will be 34-year-old Fernando Verdasco, who rolled past No.4-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.
It was a tense, dramatic affair for most of the contest, with Bautista Agut taking a second-set tiebreaker that caused Djokovic quite a bit of angst, and Djokovic battling back twice from a break down in the third set—first from 3-1 then from 5-3 down—and eventually claiming a third-set breaker that gave the Serb the necessary adrenaline to put the pedal to the metal and close out Bautista Agut in a lopsided final set.
The drama of the match rose to screech level late in the second set when Djokovic, who failed to convert each of his three set points earlier in the set, ended up missing an easy put-away after playing a brilliant defensive point at 6-6 in the tiebreaker. He smashed his racquet to smithereens and the crowd let him hear it before Bautista closed out the set on the next point.
The third set was no less tense as Djokovic was forced to twice recover a break, including once when Bautista Agut was serving for a two sets to one lead.
The tiebreaker went in his favor, and the fourth set was downhill skiing for the Serb, who closed out the match without any further complication to reach the second week at a Grand Slam for the 43rd time. That number ties Jimmy Connors for second-most appearances in the second week of a major in history—the pair are currently 17 behind Roger Federer’s 60.
Djokovic's nearly four hour triumph, given the elevated stress level of the contest, difficult playing conditions and the quality of Bautista Agut's resistance, can only be seen as a good sign as he prepares himself for the business end of the tournament. He passed physical muster, stayed engaged mentally through the toughest ebbs and flows, and hit full-throttle when it was time to put the match to bed.
It's the type of gritty performance we've been waiting for and expecting from Djokovic since the clay season began--now we'll see if he can reproduce it.
"He was the better player in the third set and it was supposed to go his way, he was serving for it," Djokovic said. "But that was a turning point... after three hours and 15, 20 minutes, to be able to play that way and finish the match in tough conditions against a player who doesn't miss a lot and puts a lot of balls back, that's something that gives me great deal of confidence."
Bautista Agut, who lost his mother on May 21, was playing in Paris with a heavy heart. He soldiered on and gave Djokovic a fight for his life. Though he dropped to 1-7 lifetime against the Serb, he has a lot to be proud of.
“I have to tell you that it was not easy to go on court these days, but I don't know why I could manage it,” he said.
