Highlights of the sixth day at the French Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, on Friday (all times GMT):
1250 HALEP EXACTS REVENGE ON ANISIMOVA
Top seed Simona Halep cruised to a 6-0 6-1 victory over American Amanda Anisimova in just 54 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The Romanian struck 15 winners and converted six break point opportunities to avenge her quarter-final loss to Anisimova in Paris last year.
1130 THIEM RACES INTO LAST 16
Third seed Dominic Thiem booked his place in the fourth round at Roland Garros for a fifth consecutive year with a 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over Norway’s Casper Ruud.
1039 SWIATEK SENDS BOUCHARD PACKING
Poland’s Iga Swiatek eased past Canadian wildcard Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-2 to book a spot in the fourth round of the French Open.
0910 PLAY UNDER WAY AT ROLAND GARROS
U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem began his third-round clash against Norwegian 28th seed Casper Ruud on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The temperature was hovering around 15 degrees Celsius and showers are forecast throughout the day.
Djokovic ties Federer with 70th win at Roland Garros
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the ongoing French Open after defeating Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis in straight sets.
On Thursday, the Serbian beat Berankis 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 23 minutes to improve his 2020 record to 33-1.
This was Djokovic’s 70th win at the Roland Garros, moving him into a tie for second-most all-time alongside Roger Federer. Only Spain’s Rafael Nadal (95) has more wins.
“Of course, winning that many matches on each Slam is a great achievement, and of course it makes me proud, makes me happy,” Djokovic said after the match as per the official tournament website. “I always aim to play my best tennis in Grand Slams. I think Federer, Nadal, the biggest players in the last 10, 15 years, aim to always play their best in slams,” he added.
The world number will aim to get past Federer when he meets Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan in the next round.
“I don’t know much about him, to be honest. I have never seen him play, so I’ll have to obviously look at his matches, the videos, and try to prepare myself with my team,” Djokovic said. “It’s always dangerous facing opponents you never faced before.”
Ruthless Nadal charges into French Open last 16
Claycourt master Rafael Nadal powered his way into the fourth round of his beloved French Open with a merciless 6-1 6-4 6-0 demolition of Italian Stefano Travaglia on Friday.
The second seed, looking to extend his record to 13 titles at Roland Garros and hoping to match Roger Federer’s record of 20 men’s Grand Slam singles titles, will next meet American Sebastian Korda.
Nadal encountered little resistance on court Philippe Chatrier, hitting 28 winners and saying stars started to align in Paris.
“The scoreline is because I did a lot of good things, I went to the net more often, I was more aggressive,” the 34-year-old said.
“I played my best match here at Roland Garros this year.”
Nadal started in dominant fashion, winning the first nine points.
After 23 minutes, the first set was already in his bag. Travaglia had only managed six points, being completely overwhelmed by the Spaniard’s power.
Travaglia played deeper early in the second set and Nadal found himself with a little challenge.
He broke for 4-3 but in the following game faced his first break point, which he saved to extend his lead to 5-3, then holding to love to move two sets up.
Travaglia’s resistance cost him dearly as he collapsed in the third set, managing only eight points.
Wildcard Gaston keeps French flag flying with Wawrinka win
Wildcard Hugo Gaston took down former French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 2-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-0 in a riveting contest on Friday to advance to the fourth round and keep the home country’s hopes alive in the men’s draw at this year’s edition.
Gaston, albeit at only 1.73 metres, is the last French man standing out of the 18 that started in the main draw at this year’s tournament, wrapped up the contest with a bagel in the deciding set agains the three-time Grand Slam champion.
The Swiss, whose only loss to a Frenchman in 10 previous matches at Roland Garros was against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2012, ran out of steam as the 20-year-old, ranked 239th, romped to victory in front of the vociferous Court Suzanne Lenglen fans.
“I tried to play my game, I entered the court to win even if I didn’t think I could win,” Gaston said in his court-side interview.
Gaston, who broke Wawrinka eight times, will next face Austrian third seed and U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, the runner-up at Roland Garros in the last two years.
“It’s going to be a crazy experience (against Thiem). I’m going to give everything, just like today and we’ll see the result. I will have nothing to lose,” he said.
