Novak Djokovic eased into a record 19th Roland Garros quarter-final on Monday with a straight-sets win over Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
The three-time French Open champion defeated Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a quarter-final clash with third seed Alexander Zverev on Wednesday.
With this victory, Djokovic now holds the record for the most quarter-final appearances at a single Grand Slam tournament.
“I feel good. I know I can play better. But 12 sets played, 12 sets won—it’s been solid so far,” said the 38-year-old, after marking his 100th career win at the French Open. “It’s great, but victory number 101 would be better. I’m very honoured… but I need to continue now.”
Djokovic leads Zverev 8-5 in their head-to-head record, although he was forced to retire from their most recent encounter in the Australian Open semi-finals due to injury.
“He’s 10 years younger. He calls himself a veteran of the game. What should I call myself, then?” joked Djokovic ahead of the match.
Norrie, once ranked in the world’s top 10 and now at 81st, has now lost all six of his meetings with Djokovic.
The Serb showed no signs of fatigue from what he described as a “complicated” return to his hotel Sunday night after attending Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League title celebration at Parc des Princes.
Security concerns briefly delayed his travel due to unrest in the city. “They were suggesting we not go back at all… some gas bombs and cars under fire. It was really dangerous,” Djokovic said. “But in the end we made it back safely. It was just very noisy.”
Chasing a record 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic took full control early on, breaking Norrie three times in the opening set. After edging a tighter second set, he closed out the match with little resistance, converting his first match point to seal a dominant win.
