Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic won in straight sets while Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz were upset in five-set marathons during Friday’s action at the French Open in Paris.
Top-seeded Alcaraz of Spain cruised past Canadian 26th seed Denis Shapovalov 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, capitalizing on Shapovalov’s 10 double faults and 39 total unforced errors.
In the Round of 16, Alcaraz will face 17th seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, who swept past British No. 14 seed Cameron Norrie 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday.
Djokovic, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 29 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2 in 3 hours and 36 minutes. The Serbian star was the target of boos from a portion of the crowd.
“A majority of the people comes to enjoy tennis or support one or the other player,” Djokovic said at his news conference. “But they are individuals. There are people — there are groups or whatever — that love to boo every single thing you do. That’s something that I find disrespectful and I frankly don’t understand that.
“But it’s their right. They paid the ticket. They can do whatever they want.”
Djokovic’s Round of 16 opponent will be Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru, who upset Poland’s Hurkacz, the No. 13 seed, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2.
Varillas, ranked No. 94 in the world, had not won a Grand Slam main draw match before this French Open. He has won all three of his matches this week in five sets.
No. 7 seed Rublev of Russia also bowed out Friday, with Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego rallying to a 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win. Rublev had a 47-37 edge in winners but Sonego saved 5 of 11 break points and clawed back.
“It is a miracle,” Sonego said. “I played my best tennis (Friday). It was tough after one hour when I was two sets down. It was an incredible comeback. …
“I played more aggressively. When he is aggressive, it is tough to compete. I tried to do my best on serve and I had to play more aggressive at the net. I played every point with the right attitude.”
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece eased past Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. In the next round, he will face Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner, who outlasted Italian Fabio Fognini 5-7, -3, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.
No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia beat Australian wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5). Khachanov will play Sonego in the next round.
–Field Level Media
