Novak Djokovic is into his 19th Roland Garros quarter-final after a 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory over Cameron Norrie.
The Serb was utterly dominant as his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title continued with a convincing win.
It was a positive tournament for Norrie who will climb up the rankings but the Brit was ultimately beaten by the better player.
Next up for Djokovic will be Alexander Zverev in what should be a brutal quarter-final.
Djokovic got off to a confident start by breaking in the second game although there was the feeling that the Serb never really had to get out of first gear in this match.
The vulnerable side of Djokovic was evident in the following game as Norrie did well to break back as his recent form saw a spark being lit in the Brit.
However, Norrie never really took consistent advantage of Djokovic’s weak points and the Brit was once again broken in the following game.
After dropping his first two service games, Norrie eventually found his groove on serve to hold in the sixth game.
It was too late though as more errors came from Norrie’s game while Djokovic did a good job of maintaining a high level from the baseline with the Serb breaking again for the set.
In the second set, Djokovic started the set poorly and for the only time of the match Norrie capitalised.
A break in the opening game was followed by a hold of serve as he had control of the early stages of the second set.
The resolve from Norrie didn’t last long as he was sloppy and inconsistent on serve allowing Djokovic to dictate play and be the aggressor.
Djokovic won the next three games but was still tested on serve as Norrie anticipated the Serb’s shots well and a ten minute game unfolded.
Multiple break points were created from Norrie but just like the rest of the match the Brit couldn’t take advantage.
Following that game Norrie took a medical time-out on a foot injury and never really recovered as Djokovic stepped up when it really mattered to break and hold serve again to take a two set lead.
A fatigued and broken Norrie never looked like threatening Djokovic’s dominant position as two more breaks of serve secured the win for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
This was Djokovic’s 100th win at Roland Garros but the Serb is more focused on achieving other landmarks at this year’s tournament, “It’s a good number, a happy number for me, but the 101st victory is the most important for me now,” Djokovic was quoted by the BBC Sport website as saying.
“I’m happy to add to the history of this court which has given me so much and I would like to hope there will be another victory for me in a couple of days.”
Djokovic will now face Alexander Zverev on Wednesday with the Serb leading their head-to-head 8-5.
