Second seed Novak Djokovic was a set away from losing his Roland Garros crown, but finished with a flourish against an inspired Diego Schwartzman on Friday to reach the fourth round with a 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory in three hours and 18 minutes.
“Sometimes you need to be challenged in order for certain things to surface, which maybe are not surfacing if you're winning comfortably. That's going to happen more as I go deeper in the tournament because the matches and opponents are going to get tougher,” said Djokovic. “I didn't play too many five-setters the past couple of years. I see a lot of good things in it. I think it will put me in a good place mentally as well.”
Although Djokovic was flawless in the final two sets, it was Schwartzman who received a standing ovation from the Serbian and the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd for his inspired effort throughout the match.
“It took me a while to notice, because I was packing my stuff. I could see that everyone was clapping, and that Djoko was clapping and looking my way. Then finally I understood and I thought, ‘Okay, get your kit in the bag and try to enjoy the moment.’ It's a truly extraordinary thing,” said Schwartzman. “I think people who haven’t experienced it directly cannot even imagine how wonderful it is. It's going to be a great memory.”
🇷🇸@DjokerNole d. 🇦🇷 D. Schwartzman - R3 @RolandGarros
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 2, 2017
5-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1
Djoker faces 🇪🇸@La_Pouille/🇫🇷@AlbertRamos88 winner in R4#RG17 pic.twitter.com/iQ6cYSz2r4
Another former champion who received applause during the match is former World No. 1 and 1999 Roland Garros champion Andre Agassi, who unexpectedly arrived for the match with Djokovic leading 4-3 in the second set. Djokovic said that Agassi's appearance was a pleasant surprise since their coaching arrangement had ended on Thursday.
“I respect very much that he managed to move his commitments around so he could come and watch,” said Djokovic. “I'm just trying to enjoy every possible moment that I have next to him when he's here with me. Even at times when he's not there, he's present in my life and in my career. I hope that we can create something that is going to go long-term.”
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Djokovic improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Schwartzman to 2-0. He picked up his 58th match win (58-11) at Roland Garros, tying Guillermo Vilas for third on the all-time list at this event. Making his 13th consecutive appearance at Roland Garros, Djokovic has not lost before the quarter-finals since 2009. He is bidding to become the first man in the Open Era – and only the third man in history – to win each of the four Grand Slams twice. Roy Emerson and Rod Laver are the only other men to accomplish the feat.
Djokovic will face another stern test in the fourth round when he faces Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who began the clay-court swing with a run to the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final on the back of consecutive Top 10 wins over Andy Murray and Marin Cilic. On Friday the 19th-seeded left-hander finished strong to take out 16th-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
Schwartzman was appearing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. He falls to 0-13 against players inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.
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Although Schwartzman was in uncharted territory at a Grand Slam, he wasn't overwhelmed by the occasion on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Argentine twice rallied from a break down in the opening set. A nervy game on his serve at 6-5 saw four set points come and go, but he made good on his fifth chance to take the early advantage.
Djokovic cleaned up his game considerably in the second set. He finished the opening set with eight winners and 21 unforced errors, but ended the second set with 13 winners and nine unforced errors. The Serbian grabbed the lone break of the set at 4-3 and eventually leveled the match.
Schwartzman refused to budge, though, and continued to engage the defending champion in grueling baseline battles. With the crowd chanting his name, Schwartzman began throwing his whole body into forehand winners that saw the packed stadium yell in delight. He earned three straight break points on Djokovic's serve at 4-3 and converted on the third after Djokovic sent a forehand just outside the lines. He then rallied from 0/40 in the next game, saving four break points in total, and took a commanding lead when Djokovic hit a backhand return wide on set point.chwartzman
But while Schwartzman's effort never betrayed him, his body did in the latter stages of the match. He began to frequently clutch his ribs after points in the fourth set and the injury appeared to result in diminished speeds on his shots. He failed to hold serve in the fourth set and won just five points in his three service games.
The Argentine took an injury timeout at 1-4 in the fifth set, but the treatment wasn't enough to sustain the barrage of relentless rallies. A final forehand from Djokovic on his first match point wrapped up the contest, but both he and the rest of Court Philippe Chatrier gave Schwartzman a standing ovation for his outstanding effort.
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com