By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Novak Djokovic dispatched Dominik Koepfer 7-5, 6-3 to charge into his record fourth Olympic singles quarterfinal and a rematch vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Photo credit: Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty
Tuning into the Olympic muse, Novak Djokovic continues conducting his golden quest with success.
The top-seeded Djokovic scored a five-game surge dispatching Dominik Koepfer of Germany 7-5, 6-3 to charge into his record fourth Olympic singles quarterfinal at Roland Garros in Paris.
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On match point, Djokovic made the strings sing with a sweet angled backhand volley winner to close in one hour, 37 minutes.
Afterward, Djokovic flipped the face of his Head racquet beneath his chin like a violin and mimed playing a triumphant tune for Serbian fans who waved the nation’s flag in support.
Serbian fans had cause for celebration: Djokovic is the first player—man or woman—to reach four Olympic quarterfinals since tennis returned to the Games at 1988 Seoul.
The 37-year-old Serbian superstar is the oldest player, man or woman, to reach the Olympic singles quarterfinals since the sport returned to the Games in 1988.
“Great battle, extreme conditions today,” Djokovic said in his on-court NBC interview. “Honestly the heat and humidity very high. So sweating it out on court—same for both players obviously—it was very challenging.
“I think he played very well. He didn’t have much to lose. He was striking the ball beautifully, a lot of spin on that forehand. In these conditions the ball was bouncing higher so very difficult to handle that spin and also he was serving well.
“So all in all, It was a challenging match, I think, but I’m really glad I managed to respond to that challenge in a good way.”
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Delivering shots like a virtuoso violinist hitting the right notes, Djokovic blew open a 5-all duel today with that five-game surge that saw him take command with all-court tennis.
Deploying the serve-and-volley, Djokovic hit a fine flying backhand volley then spun a forehand winner down the line holding for a 7-5, 5-2 lead after 90 minutes of play.
The reigning US Open champion has allowed just 14 games in tournament victories over Aussie doubles specialist Matthew Ebden, rival Rafael Nadal and the left-handed Koepfer. Djokovic sealed it with that slick backhand volley winner.
These Olympic Games mark Djokovic’s return to Paris after undergoing surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on Wednesday, June 5th in the City of Light. Wearing gray strapping around his right knee, Djokovic is moving even more fluidly and sliding more frequently than he did in his run to the Wimbledon final earlier this month.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will face Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas for a semifinal spot.
The No. 8-seeded Tsitsipas soared through seven straight games subduing Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-1 on Court Simonne Mathieu
The Djokovic-Tsitsipas match is a rematch of their famed 2021 French Open final.
Fighting from two sets down for the first time in a Slam final, a determined Djokovic defeated a valiant Tsitsipas 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 capturing his 19th major championship at the 2021 Roland Garros.
Climbing off the red clay after a tough tumble in the first set, Djokovic found his footing ascending rare air as the only man in Open Era history to win all four Grand Slam championships twice.
Three-time Roland Garros champion Djokovic holds an 11-2 career edge over Tsitsipas. This will be their first meeting since Djokovic defeated Tsitsipas in the 2023 Australian Open final and he knows what’s coming.
“Well look Stefanos is one of the best players in the world overall, particularly on this surface, for many years,” Djokovic said. “We played finals of Roland Garros in 2021. He was two sets to love up. I managed to turn that match around and win it.
“We had some epic battles. I know what’s [facing] me: One of the best serves and forehands on the Tour. he just loves playing on clay. He knows how to move, he knows how to play, he loves playing for his country. So it should be a good one.”
American Tommy Paul continues his superb summer run. Paul converted his seventh match point muting clever Frenchman Corentin Moutet and a raucous French crowd 7-6(6), 6-3.
"It was tricky," Paul said in his NBC interview afterward. "The crowd was definitely not on my side today. It’s pretty expected the French crowd always comes out for their players.
"I’d rather play in that atmosphere than a quiet one. Things got very tricky at the end of both sets. He’s a very tricky player so I had to stay locked in on my side of the net."
Queen’s Club champion Paul is 10th American man to reach the Olympic quarterfinals—and first U.S. man since USC Trojan Stevie Johnson at the 2016 Rio Games.
The ninth-seeded Paul could play reigning Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz next in what would be a rematch of their Wimbledon clash from earlier this month.
Lorenzo Musetti knocked Taylor Fritz out of the Paris Olympic singles 6-4, 7-5 weeks after the Italian surprised Fritz in five sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
The 11th-seeded Musetti is the third Italian man to reach the Olympic quarterfinals, and first since Renzo Furlan at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Next up for Musetti is either Olympic gold medal champion Alexander Zverev or Aussie Alexei Popyrin.