French Open tennis – Novak Djokovic cruises into fourth round with Ricardas Berankis win

ByBen Snowball

Updated 05/06/2021 at 15:16 GMT

Djokovic is steamrolling towards a potential meeting with Roger Federer in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. The Serb is targeting a second title in Paris – a tournament that has largely eluded him with Rafael Nadal an immovable object. But the signs are promising for Djokovic so far, with nine flawless sets of tennis at this year’s tournament.

Novak Djokovic was rarely troubled as he cruised into the second week at the French Open with a straight sets win over Ricardas Berankis.

The Serb was only on court for 92 minutes as he swept the world number 93 aside 6-1 6-4 6-1.

The 2016 champion is on a collision course with Roger Federer, with the pair slated to meet in the quarter-finals. The Swiss maestro faces Dominik Koepfer in his third-round match later on Saturday.

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Djokovic was in a frugal mood on Court Philippe-Chatrier as he refused to give his opponent a sniff in the opening five games. When Berankis did eventually get on the board, the first set was already long gone.

The second set started in a slightly different manner as a rare Djokovic error at 30-30 allowed his opponent to hold and secure a rare game.

But the inevitable break did not take long to arrive, with Djokovic making the breakthrough in the fifth game before racing through the rest of the set.

Any hopes of a Berankis comeback were quickly extinguished as he was broken in his first two service games of the third set as Djokovic charged home.

The 34-year-old is seeking to win a 19th Grand Slam title with victory in Paris, a success that would move him to within one of the men's all-time record, jointly shared by Federer and Rafael Nadal. Nadal, who Djokovic could meet in the last four, has won an unprecedented 13 titles at Roland Garros.

Djokovic will face Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the last 16. Musetti saw off compatriot Marco Cecchinato in five sets, a win that will be best remembered for an outrageous behind-the-back shot.

Musetti produces outrageous behind-the-back, shot-of-the-year contender

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Watch all the action from the 2021 French Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title at his favourite event and 2020 Roland Garros sensation Iga Swiatek aiming to replicate her stunning triumph.

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