Djokovic & Alcaraz through at Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic demonstrated his superior quality to swat aside Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas and reach a record 17th French open men’s quarter-final.

The Serbian third seed, 36, won 6-3 6-2 6-2 on the Roland Garros clay and moved ahead of Rafael Nadal to take sole ownership of the last-eight record.

Djokovic is also aiming to overtake Nadal by winning a record 23rd grand slam men’s singles title.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz also advanced by beating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

Spain’s Alcaraz, seen as Djokovic’s main rival for the title in the absence of injured 14-time champion Nadal, won 6-3 6-2 6-2 against the 17th seed later on Sunday.

Djokovic and Alcaraz remain on course to meet in the semi-finals.

Read Also: Italian Open: Djokovic Advances to Quarterfinal

On taking sole ownership of the quarter-final record, Djokovic said: “I’m proud of it, but my attention is already in the next match.

“I know what my goal is here. I’m trying to stay mentally the course and of course not look too far [ahead].”

Two-time champion Djokovic, who won in 2016 and 2021, will play Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov next.

Khachanov, reached his third successive grand slam quarter-final with a 1-6 6-4 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 victory over unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

World number one Alcaraz, will meet fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas next after the Greek beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 7-5 6-3 6-0.