Paris: World number one Novak Djokovic has moved clear of Roger Federer with his 71st Roland Garros victory after he cruised past lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia in his third-round contest in the ongoing tournament.
On Saturday, Djokovic defeated Galan 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 to improve to 71-14 in French Open grand slam. The world number one, who broke serve on seven occasions and saved all five break points he faced en route to victory, also helped sweep the court during a brief rain delay while the roof was being shut.
“If you impose yourself from the very beginning on the court, which I have in those first three matches here, then it makes it hard for them to really believe that they can come back and make a turnaround in the match,” said Djokovic after the match as per the ATP Tour website.
He will next face Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals. Djokovic owns a 3-1 head to head record against the World No. 16, but Khachanov emerged victorious in the pair’s previous encounter in Paris.
Meanwhile, in women’s singles, former champion Garbine Muguruza crashed out of the tournament, losing to Danielle Collins.
In a roller-coaster match that lasted two hours and 28 minutes, Collins came back from a double break deficit in the final set against Muguruza to claim a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win.
“She (Muguruza) was playing really well, and there was only so much I could do,” Collins said after the match as per the WTA website. “I just told myself, Okay, I’ve got to ride out the storm a little bit. Just give it all I have. Just stick through the process,” she added.
With the win, Collins also snapped Muguruza’s streak of reaching the second week at Roland Garros every year since 2014, including her title-winning run in 2016. She will now face No.30 seed Ons Jabeur in the fourth round.
