Djokovic crushes Varillas to move into record 17th French Open quarter-final
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Third seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the last eight at the French Open on Sunday.
PARIS (Reuters/AFP) - Third seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the last eight at the French Open on Sunday with a straight sets demolition of the unseeded Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas.
The 36-year-old Serb, who is seeking a third French Open crown and a record 23rd title at the four Grand Slam tournaments, was 4-0 up in 16 minutes.
The gulf in experience was clear. Djokovic was playing for the 68th time in the fourth round of one of the majors while his 27-year-old opponent was making his debut in the last-16.
Varillas stopped Djokovic's early run with flashes of the confident hitting that took him past the 13th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the third round.
He halved Djokovic's lead but the veteran held on to take the opener 6-3. The second set was a 6-2 sweep and the third was equally unruffled.
Djokovic wrapped up affairs 6-2 with a slick serve and volley routine. The demolition had taken one hour and 57 minutes
"I know Juan Pablo is a clay court specialist and so I was very happy with what I think was my best level of tennis since the tournament began."
Varillas, the first Peruvian to reach the last 16 at Roland Garros Jaime Yzaga in 1994, said he had started to feel the effects of playing 17 sets of tennis in five days.
"Even I was at 100 percent energy, I still might have lost in this manner," added the 27-year-old. "It has been a wonderful run for me here in Paris."
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Of his first meeting with Djokovic, he said: "He has an amazing ability to be on the ball no matter where it is and his defence is aggressive. You attack and attack and he defends and suddenly flips the coin and you are defending."
Djokovic will need to maintain those high standards after reaching a record 17th quarter-final at the French Open.
He will take on the 11th seed Karen Khachanov who disposed of the unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego in four sets.
"I'm happy about all records," said Djokovic. "But it shows that I'm no longer young. I put in lots of effort - like all the players - and I am happy and motivated to continue."
In the women's draw, the 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova came from a set down to see off the 28th seed Elise Mertens.
The 31-year-old Russian will take on the unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova after her straight sets win over Elina Avanesyan.
Djokovic wants to see 'healthy' Nadal back in 2024
Novak Djokovic reached his 55th Grand Slam quarter-final and record 17th at the French Open on Sunday before urging a "healthy" Rafael Nadal to return next year and resume their epic rivalry.
Djokovic, chasing a third Roland Garros championship and 23rd men's Grand Slam title, eased past 94th-ranked Peruvian opponent Juan Pablo Varillas, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
The 36-year-old Serb, champion in Paris in 2016 and 2021, will face 11th seed Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals.
Djokovic is one of the favourites to claim the French Open this year with 14-time champion Nadal sidelined for the first time since 2004 after failing to recover from a hip injury.
On Saturday, the day of his 37th birthday, it was revealed that Nadal would require at least five months of rehabilitation following keyhole surgery on his injured hip.
That means he will likely not play again until 2024 which will be his final season on tour.
"I really hope that his rehabilitation process can go well and that we can see him next season," said Djokovic of Nadal who he has faced 59 times in his career.
He and the Spaniard are tied on 22 Grand Slam titles.
"He's so important for our game on and off the court, one of the greatest legends of tennis. We want to see healthy Rafa, no question about it, playing for what he has announced his last season. Hopefully he's gonna be able to do that."
On his record 17th quarter-final in Paris, and 14th in a row, Djokovic added: "I am very proud of this record. I have put a lot of effort into my game and I am very motivated to continue."
"However, my attention is already on the next match. I know what my goal is here. I'm trying to stay mentally the course and not look too far."
Djokovic holds a commanding 8-1 career lead over Khachanov, including their only previous meeting at the French Open in 2020.
The Russian reached the quarter-finals for the second time with a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 win over Lorenzo Sonego of Italy.
The 27-year-old Khachanov says he hopes his fondness for chess will help his strategic and tactical battle of wills with Djokovic on Tuesday.
"You need to play really good chess to beat him," said Khachanov.
"I like to play chess in the morning to start the brain working and going. I think there are some similarities here.
"I think when you open your head and you are really full into the game, you see the field much bigger. You see the possible shots which you can make troubles to the opponent. I think there are some similarities. Maybe it helps me."
