Top seed Alcaraz reaches fourth round

Spanish world number one Carlos Alcaraz delivered a confident self-assessment in his first Grand Slam as the top seed after booking his fourth round spot on Friday, saying he was the complete article.

Alcaraz stormed past Canada's Denis Shapovalov with a 6-1 6-4 6-2 demolition to set up a fourth round match against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti.

"I am a complete player," Alcaraz told a press conference when asked his strongest point as a player.

"I would say the stronger thing that I have on court is push to the limit. I push the opponent to the limit every time."

Alcaraz became the youngest world number one when he was 19 last year. He is also the youngest top seed in Paris since Bjorn Borg back in 1976.

"I am over there, every point, playing great points and I don't lose the focus," he said.

The 20-year-old has already got one Grand Slam after winning the U.S. Open last year and is the favourite to lift the trophy on the Parisian clay.

He said his previous French Open in 2022 where he lost in the last eight as well as his U.S. Open title run had started worse than this year's French Open.

"The U.S. Open, I was more in trouble (in the first week), as well. Some really, really tough matches at the beginning. It was really tough for me."

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic said he did not have "time to name the many injuries" he has after navigating his way through a tricky French Open encounter.

The Serb needed treatment on his thigh before securing a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the last 16.

Third seed Djokovic, 36, looked uncomfortable at times against Davidovich Fokina, particularly in the third set after he had received treatment in a medical timeout at the end of the second.

But he came through to move a step closer to winning a record 23rd Grand Slam men's singles title.

Djokovic is yet to drop a set at Roland Garros this year but came closer than he would have liked against Davidovich Fokina - a player he lost to on the Monte Carlo clay last year - with the first two sets going to tie-breaks and lasting more than three hours combined.

"Sometimes you need help from physio during the match," said Djokovic.

"Sometimes you need pills. Sometimes you need help from the god or angels, or whoever. Sometimes you just have to deal with the reality."

Asked if he was concerned about his physical state, he added: "We don't have much time to start to name the many injuries I have, and the list is quite long.

"I don't want to sit here and talk about these things that are not preventing me from playing. I still kept on playing. These are the circumstances that you, as a professional athlete, have to deal with. Accept it.

"The reality for me nowadays is my body is responding differently than it did few years ago."

It is in Paris that Davidovich Fokina, ranked 34th in the world, has enjoyed his best success at a Grand Slam, reaching the quarter-finals in 2021, and he came out swinging against Djokovic with big hits and sublime drop shots causing all sorts of trouble for the former world number one.

After edging a first set in which he was twice a break down, made four double faults and received a time violation, Djokovic saved set point in the second before squeezing past his opponent in a second tie-break and then celebrating wildly.

He then received treatment but still dominated the remainder of the match to end Davidovich Fokina's hopes of an upset.

Djokovic, through to the fourth round for the 14th successive year, will face Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas next.

Elsewhere, Jessica Pegula became the highest-ranked women's player to exit the 2023 French Open to date as she was emphatically beaten by Elise Mertens.

American third seed Pegula, a quarter-finalist in Paris last year, struggled in a 6-1 6-3 defeat.

Belgian 28th seed Mertens will face Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round.

Pegula's time at Roland Garros is not over as she is through to the women's doubles second round with Coco Gauff.

-REUTERS