Earlier this year, Novak Djokovic lost three consecutive matches for the first time since 2007. The former World No. 1 even dropped outside the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings this month for the first time since 2 October 2006 as he continued his comeback from a right elbow injury.
But none of that has mattered at Roland Garros. Djokovic, who is seeded his lowest at a Grand Slam since the 2006 US Open, at No. 20, looks to have regained his confidence. The Serbian battled past No. 13 seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(4), 6-2 in three hours, 48 minutes on Friday.
"It was a great fight, almost four hours. Bautista Agut, he's not going to hand you the win. You have to deserve it," Djokovic said. "Not having so many matches in the last period, this is great. I mean, of course I don't want to play four, five hours every match. But I think it was a great test. I had to earn my victory. Last set was actually the best set that I have played so far in the tournament."
By reaching the Round of 16 on the Parisian terre battue, the 2016 champion has now advanced to the fourth round at majors 43 times, tying Jimmy Connors for second in the Open Era behind Roger Federer (60). The 31-year-old may also benefit from an upset earlier in the day as his next opponent, No. 30 seed Fernando Verdasco, beat reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.
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Djokovic significantly lifted his level at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, his final event before the clay-court Grand Slam. There, the Serbian reached the semi-finals before showing perhaps his best form of the season in a tight two-set loss against Rafael Nadal. He would need the confidence from that run and his two straight-set triumphs earlier in Paris against Bautista Agut, a veteran with an endless reserve of motivation.
The Spaniard’s mother suddenly passed away on 21 May, and he showed fight that would have made her proud as he recovered an early break in the second set and saved three set points later on before evening the match at a set apiece.
"My life is tennis. I'm used to going inside the court and forgetting about my real life and trying to do my work," Bautista Agut said. "That's the thing I've been doing since a lot of years... 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."
While Djokovic visibly showed his frustration at letting slip his opportunities, he locked in when it mattered most, showing the steely determination that has helped him to 68 tour-level titles in what amounted to a match of execution between the pair. Neither player controlled the contest for an extended period of time, or lost their level for more than a few games until the fourth set. It was a point-by-point battle, with both players attempting to neutralise the other’s aggression to work their way toward the baseline. Interestingly enough, the Spaniard was content to stay in crosscourt backhand-to-backhand rallies with Djokovic, who perhaps has the best two-handed backhand of his generation.
The key was the third set, in which both players broke three times. Bautista Agut led by a break twice, and served for a two-sets-to-one advantage. But Djokovic dug into the red dirt and battled to hang on and force a tie-break, in which he dominated.
"I think I played great and I was at the same level as Novak," Bautista Agut said. "I had my chance in the third set, and, well, I couldn't make it. And when you play against a great champion, you don't have many opportunities."
Djokovic went as far as saying he believed he was not the better player in the set, but that the moment was crucial.
"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."
Throughout much of the match, Djokovic used his backhand drop shot to no avail and was sporadic in his shotmaking. But in the fourth set, the Serbian was far more crisp, tiring the Spaniard out, moving him from side to side. When the Serbian did bring Bautista Agut to the net, it was with much better drop shots. Overall, Djokovic increasingly controlled points. And while he gave back one break as he served for the match, the Serbian closed it out with a third break in the set, clinching the victory with a clean overhead winner.
Djokovic leads his next Spanish opponent, Verdasco, 10-4 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including victories in their past five meetings, although they are knotted 3-3 on clay.
Did You Know?
Novak Djokovic has won more matches in Rome and at Roland Garros (7), than he did in his first six events of the season (6).