Roland Garros Men’s Day 8

Top title contenders Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz kept on pace as both stormed into the second week of the French Open on Sunday with identical straight-set wins.

Third seed Djokovic wrote another record with a 17th quarter-final here as the Serb smothered Peruvian outsider Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday to take his place in the second week.

Alcaraz, 20, the top-seeded world No. 1, dispatched Italian threat Lorenzo Musetti by an identical scoreline, reaching the quarter-finals in just over two hours.

“I played at such a great leve,” the Spaniard said. “I had high quality shots. My game was working well and I really played aggressive.

“I played a complete match from the first ball to the last, I’m happy to get through a really rough round..

Alcaraz will take a flawless 4-0 record into his next match against Stefanos Tsistsipas after the Greek ended the dream run of Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 in one and three-quarter hours.

The Spaniard has defeated Tsitsipas twice on clay at Barcelona.

The 36-year-old Djokovic has now reached a career total of 55 quarter-finals at the majors.

His opponent Varillas is the first Peruvian man to get this far here since Jaime Yzaga in 1994. 

Djokovic also polished his record against opponents outside the Top 50 to a comfortable 46-1,

The two-time Paris trophyholder was ruthless with his 94th-ranked opponent in a rout lasting less than two hours.

The third seed notched 35 winners and broke on six of his 12 chances to set up a quarter-final with Karen Khachanov. 

“It’s my best performance in the tournament so far and it came exactly at the right time,” Djokovic said.

“I’m proud of it (quarter-final record), but my attention is already on the next match. 

“Quarterfinals, Khachanov… I know what my goal is here. I’m trying to stay mentally the course and of course not look too far.

“The performance of today gives me a great deal of confidence about how I felt, about how I played.”

 Djokovic is bidding for more history as he chases a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title and his third in Paris. Should that scenario come good, he would return to the top of the ATP rankings.

The Serb’s recent elbow and other unspecified physical problems seem to be under control.

“I’m definitely (playing) better than in the last couple of months,.

“The past 10 days have been the best that I have felt since the Australian Open, so that’s good. That’s positive news. 

“I just have to keep going and not allow myself to think too far, but I’m on a good path.”

 Next round opponent Khachanov returned to the Paris quarters for the first time since 2019 with a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-1 win over Lorenzo Sonego.

The semi-finalist at his last two majors in New York and Melbourne said he had to regroup in order to turn the match around after dropping the opening set.

“After the first set and a half, I was thinking, what am I doing here, he was hitting all over the place so I decided all I could do was fight,” he said.

“I like best of five sets, I’m more prepared mentally and physically/

“It makes me feel strong to know that even if I’m down a set and a half, the opponent still has to win three sets.”