A substantial effort by Spanish 13th seed Robert Bautisto Agut to resist the 12 time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Novak was eventually victorious after an intense four hour battle. Final scoreline read 6-4, 6-7(6-8), 7-6(7-4), 6-2.
The Serbian International qualified for last 16 of a Grand Slam for 43rd time. He was out of the game for a chunk of time which dropped his rankings to 22. He was out with an elbow injury.
He will face Fernando Verdasco in fourth round of the French Open. Verdasco on the other hand has taken everyone by surprise in the third round. Against all odds he defeated the Bulgarian fourth seed and ATP World tour finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.
Last set where Novak dominated and eventually won the physical battle was the best phase he said. Even after 228 mins on the court he was’t exhausted and it was amazing to earn the victory he added. A very good news in the long run for the Serbian. Stakes will be high and it wont be an easy encounter for Novak though.
French open has been a disparate place for Novak Djokovic. Three final defeats in years 2012, 2014 & 2015 before ultimately getting the better of Andy Murray in 2016 Finals is an inspiring tale. Quite tedious to predict this year as he was away from the game for quite sometime.
Image Source – Daily Mail