Nadal-Djokovic to clash in French Open 2022 Quarter Final
Defending champion Novak Djokovic entered the quarterfinals of the French Open Tennis Grand Slam for the 16th time in his career on Sunday. The top seed registered a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over 15th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina on the Suzanne Lenglen court. Djokovic of Serbia will face Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Nadal holds the world record for winning the French Open most times. The duo have had some epic battles on the red clay of Paris. Djokovic also holds the distinction of being the only player to have defeated the King of Clay twice at the French Open.
Novak Djokovic won the first set easily. Diego Schwartzman won 3 consecutive games in the second set to take a 3-0 lead, but Djokovic made a comeback after that. He won the second set after winning seven consecutive games and then took a 1-0 lead in the third set. Djokovic has won all 12 sets in four matches so far this year at Roland Garros.
Djokovic, who has won 20 Grand Slam titles, has reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for 13 consecutive years, winning the trophy in 2016 and last year. He is only behind Rafael Nadal in terms of trophies, who has 21 trophies to his name.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal has also reached the quarterfinals. He defeated Felix Auger Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the fourth round. Nadal has won this tournament 13 times. Nadal also holds the record for winning the most men’s singles titles in a Grand Slam tournament after lifting the Australian Open trophy earlier this year. This would be the 59th match of the famous Djokovic-Nadal rivalry with the current world number 1 leading 30-28.
In the women’s section, US Open runner-up Layla Fernandez of Canada entered the quarterfinals for the first time with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over 27th seed and 2019 semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova. The 17th seeded will now face Italy’s Martina Trevisan, who defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6, 7-5. At the same time, 18-year-old Coco Gauff also registered a 6-4, 6-0 win over 31-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium.
