Novak Djokovic into French Open quarter-finals
Novak Djokovic has ended Robby Ginepri’s surprise run to the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory on day nine.
While the match against the world No. 98 was one the third seeded Djokovic was expected to win, it nonetheless shaped as a danger match given Ginepri had defeated 18th seed Sam Querrey in the first round and 16th seed (not to mention 2003 French Open champion) Juan Carlos Ferrero in five sets in the third round.
Djokovic hadn’t dropped a set in four previous matches against the American, including at the first round at Roland Garros in 2005, but stumbled in the second before rallying to win the match with the loss of just three more games.
“Even though I lost the first set, I was still pretty happy with the way I was playing,” said Ginepri after the match. "In the third set after I got broke, I kind of let my foot off the gas a little bit. He started controlling more of the rallies. Any short balls I was hitting, he would just exploit them.
“I thought he stepped his game up a lot more. He started playing a little bit bigger, hitting the balls deeper. Anything that he tried, it seemed like it worked. If I would step in to hit a second serve return, you know, he'd serve a big one to my forehand and my body. Hats off to him. He played well, I thought, in the third and fourth set.”
And with that, the last of the Americans exited the men’s draw at the French Open.
Djokovic will now play 22nd seed Jurgen Melzer in the quarter-finals, after the Austrian ended another outsider’s stay at Roland Garros in the round of 16. World No. 114 Teimuraz Gabashvili had ended Andy Roddick’s hopes of improving on his record at the clay court major with a straight sets defeat in the third round but the Russian was outplayed by Melzer.
Melzer won the match 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and in doing so reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
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