French Open wrap: Djokovic, Zverev, and Medvedev claim victory on day seven
There were also wins for Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, the women’s two and four seeds.
Thanks to another rain-wrecked day in Paris, Novak Djokovic won an early-hours tussle with Lorenzo Musetti in five sets at 3.08am.
Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev also came through tough third-round encounters.
Meanwhile, there were straightforward wins for Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, the women’s two and four seeds.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at day seven of the French Open.
Picture of the day
Match of the day
Zverev came through a five-set marathon to reach the fourth round. The German fourth seed was on the brink of a shock exit after falling a break down in the final set against Dutch world number 26 Tallon Griekspoor. But Zverev hit back to force a deciding set tie-break and finished with an ace to register a 3-6 9-4 6-2 4-6 7-6 (3) victory.
Shot of the day
Right-hander Tomas Machac plays left-handed forehand twice and wins the point.
Quote of the day
Fashion statement of the day
Brit watch
More rain frustration for the British doubles contingent, with Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram only able to share four games with Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Two more Brits, Luke Johnson and Henry Patten – who share the same coach, Calvin Betton – are playing each other. Patten and Harri Heliovaara were leading Johnson and Skander Mansouri 6-3 2-3 when the rain came…
Schedule farce
…which made the decision to cancel all the doubles matches for the day at around 4.30pm all the more bizarre, as shortly after the rain stopped and we had the ridiculous situation of eight or nine empty courts, with no one to play on them. However, that did not stop doubles pair Mackenzie McDonald and Marcus Daniell from taking to Court Four against Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo, losing four points and then retiring, pocketing £8,000 for their troubles.
Fallen seeds
Women: Qinwen Zheng (7), Madison Keys (14), Elise Mertens (25).
Men: Tommy Paul (14), Ben Shellton (15), Tallon Griekspoor (26), Tomas Etcheverry (28), Lorenzo Musetti (30).
Who’s up next?
Carlos Alcaraz will face 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jannik Sinner takes on Corentin Moutet and the French crowd, no doubt. Defending champion Iga Swiatek headlines for the women against Anastasia Potapova.
