It was not necessary to arrive late in the stands this Friday afternoon to see the trace of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the clay court of Roland-Garros.
Two of the main favorites for the tournament have indeed spent less than two hours on the ocher to get rid of their opponent and win their sesame for the 8th finals.
Faster and more impressive than ever.
On the Central, the Serb only needed an hour and 44 minutes to get rid of Briton Aljaz Bedene (n°195) in three sets (6-3, 6-3, 6-2).
Little more than improved training.
The Serbian TGV arrives at the time of the 8th finals without having lost the slightest set and, above all, lost the slightest energy.
Asked on the court just after his victory whether he had played "the perfect match", the defending champion and world number 1 admitted to having done well, even if there are always way to do better.
“I'm always very motivated when I get on the court, with the desire to produce my best level each time.
It's not always possible to do it, but today was very good,” he said… in French to the delight of the audience.
Smooth sailing ⛵@DjokerNole is through to his 13th consecutive fourth round at#RolandGarros defeating Bedene 6-3, 6-3 6-2.
pic.twitter.com/wVOz9Brcfm
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2022
Scheduled on the Suzanne-Lenglen court, Rafael Nadal spent a little more time than his rival on ochre.
Perhaps to prolong the pleasure since the former leader of the Blues and Real Madrid Zinedine Zidane, one of his greatest idols, was present in the stands.
But that didn't seem to bother the Spaniard too much who, in just over 2 hours (2h11 exactly), dominated the powerful Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (6-3, 6-2, 6-4).
Forced to rest before the Porte d'Auteuil tournament due to persistent and incurable foot pain (he has Muller-Weiss syndrome), the man with 21 Grand Slam titles seems to have recovered from his worries.
In 2005, Zinedine Zidane offered Rafael Nadal his first #RolandGarros 🏆
He surely had no idea that he would come 17 years later to support his quest for the 14th title... 🇪🇦🇨🇵🐐 pic.twitter.com/lKW3NW2zdr
— Universe Tennis 🎾 (@UniversTennis) May 27, 2022
The two players are gaining momentum before their eventual - and long-awaited - clash in the quarter-finals.
But by then, they will have to pass the obstacle of the 8th finals.
Djokovic will have to get rid of the tough Argentine Diego Schwartzman, 16th in the world is a clay court specialist.
The latter has indeed reached the quarter-finals and the last four in the last two editions of the Parisian tournament.
In 2017 he was eliminated from the Parisian tournament in the 3rd after a defeat in 5 sets against… Djokovic.
For his part Nadal will live a special, rare moment.
He will face the young Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime who is now trained by… Toni Nadal, the uncle and former mentor of “Rafa”.
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