One of the world’s best, Novak Djokovic, eased into the round of 16 at Roland Garros on October 3rd. Djokovic’s opponent, Daniel Elahi Galan of Columbia, didn’t put up a serious fight against the Serb and despite testing him a little more in the second and third sets, Djokovic went through fairly comfortably. And, like you need a keno strategy that works in the casino, Djokovic has a great tactical strategy on the court. Will he win the French Open?
Djokovic’s tournament so far…
The Serb took one hour and 38 minutes to defeat Swedish player Mikael Ymer in Round One. The victory was routine, and the final score read Djokovic 6-0 6-2 6-3 Ymer. An eye catching first set saw Djokovic win six consecutive games, and as for Ymer? Well, it was a swift and pretty sorry exit from the competition.
The current world number one then went on to play Ricardas Berankis on Philippe-Chatrier. He dismantled Berankis (who required treatment just before the third set) to record his 70th win at Roland Garros. In perspective, only Rafa Nadal has more with 95. Djokovic won all three games – the first 6-1, and the second and third 6-2.
Coming into his third-round tie against Daniel Elahi Galan, Djokovic was 34 games unbeaten this year. He was simply fantastic against Galan, and one major news outlet described Djokovic’s performance as ‘frighteningly good’. Galan was effusive in his praise for the Serb and despite testing Djokovic slightly more in the second and third sets, Galan spoke highly of the victor, saying ‘You watch him on TV and it seems like he’s not playing that fast. But today it was like a rocket, every forehand. I was not able even to react’.
After Defeating Russian player Karen Khachanov in the fourth round, Djokovic will face Pablo Carreno Busta from Spain today. Will he make it all the way to the final, and ultimately win?
Of course, Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Some may even
consider him the undisputed world number one. However, Rafa Nadal has also enjoyed a
characteristically fantastic tournament this year, majorly impressing against Americans Mackenzie McDonald and Sebastian Korda in the second and fourth rounds (6-1 6-0 6-3 vs McDonald and 6-1 6-1 6-2 vs Korda). Naturally, Nadal will provide a Djokovic with a stern challenge as he has done many a time over the years.
Dominic Thiem has been eliminated at the quarter final stage of the competition by Diego Schwartzman after defeating Hugo Gaston in five sets.
A major competitor in Roger Federer is missing from the tournament entirely through injury, and Daniil Medvedev exited the tournament in disgrace in the first round after losing his temper, smashing his racket, and losing to Márton Fucsovics.
In reality, Djokovic should be walking away from Roland Garros with his 18th Grand Slam title.
However, as always, Rafa Nadal will provide a very stern test, and should the two meet in the final, Djokovic will have his work cut out.
