Novak Djokovic ousted Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-2 to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for the ninth consecutive time.
The first set produced some sensational tennis as Bautista Agut started the match playing some unbelievable passing shots which saw Djokovic observing in awe for the Spaniard. The Serb responded with some brilliant points of his own as the duo were locked in a tense first set on a packed Suzanne Lenglen.
There was some hard hitting on display in the opening set as the 2016 champion intensified his shots upon return. After having a couple of break points saved, the Serb didn’t want to waste another opportunity and took advantage of Bautista Agut’s poor serving to break as well as seal the opening set 6-4 in 51 minutes.
The second set saw a better start for the former world number one as he returned to his clinical best to storm into an early 4-1 lead as the momentum was firmly on his side. However the Spaniard continued to retaliate with some very hard and flat groundstrokes from the corners of the court.
The 13th seed is known for one of the flattest shots on tour and this helped him gain the break back to level the set at 4-4. As the second set progressed both players continued to cancel each other which ultimately resulted in a tiebreak. The tiebreak included a lot of drama including an epic racket smash from the Serb after missing an easy forehand at 6-6. On the next point Bautista Agut sealed the second set to level the match up.
The current world number 22 had one of his worst serving sets of his season in the third set as six breaks occurred in the set. The Spaniard had the chance to serve the set out a 5-3 when he punished the Serb’s weak decision making in crucial moments. The former champion eventually broke straight back and once again both men had earned themselves a tiebreak in what was turning out to be an exhausting contest. Unlike on previous occasions it was the Spaniard’s turn to make poor decision as Djokovic raced to the third set breaker with minimal effort.
The Serbian had learned from his previous mistakes as he took advantage of his current momentum shift and broke the Spaniard three times to secure a comfortable set and moved into the last 16 for the ninth consecutive time at Roland Garros. The duo shared a long hug at the net as this proved to be an emotional tournament for Bautista Agut, who had lost his mother last week.
Novak Djokovic looks back to his best tennis that saw him win multiple grand slam titles, he will look to consistently produce this as he plays Fernando Verdasco on Sunday in the second week of Roland Garros.
