3rd June 2023, Mumbai: Novak Djokovic fought back twice in tense tie-breaks against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round of the 2023 French Open, winning 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-2. And with that, he avenged his setback against the Spaniard at the Monte Carlo Masters a year ago. While the victory was not enough to keep Djokovic as the clear favourite for the Roland Garros crown, it did enable him break Rafael Nadal’s elusive Grand Slam record and join Roger Federer on an elite list.
With his third-round victory on Friday, Djokovic reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the 60th time in his career. Surprisingly, 17 of those came in 18 Roland Garros appearances, while 15 came in the Australian Open, where he won 10 titles, and 14 apiece at Wimbledon and the US Open. The most notable aspect of the record is that Djokovic has reached the second week 60 times in his last 65 Grand Slam outings, after losing in the first round in each of his first five. And 21 of them occurred on consecutive occasions, beginning with the French Open in 2017.
With that milestone, the Serb became only the second player to reach that mark after Federer’s 69 such appearances. Nadal stands third on the list with his tally of 54.
Djokovic also surpassed Nadal in men’s singles tennis for victory % at Grand Slams in the Open Era (minimum 10 matches) with 87.98, just ahead of the Spaniard (87.96). Djokovic now trails behind the legendary Bjorn Borg (89.24 points).
Djokovic, who is four wins away from earning a record 23rd Slam and resuming his No. 1 ranking, will face Juan Pablo Varillas, who overcame 13th seed Hubert Hurkacz in a five-set thriller.