Tennis: Djokovic survives, Williams shaky

Novak Djokovic survived an injury scare and a slippery court. Photo by Reuters
Novak Djokovic survived an injury scare and a slippery court. Photo by Reuters
Serena Williams recovered to win her three-set match. Photo: Reuters
Serena Williams recovered to win her three-set match. Photo: Reuters
Raphael Nadal is aiming for a record 10th French Open title. Photo: Reuters
Raphael Nadal is aiming for a record 10th French Open title. Photo: Reuters
Caroline Wozniacki's French Open is over. Photo: Reuters
Caroline Wozniacki's French Open is over. Photo: Reuters

Novak Djokovic's hopes of completing a career grand slam by winning the French Open suffered a scare when he needed a medical timeout during his win against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller at Roland Garros.

The top seed slipped on the clay in the second set of the second round match and stretched his right groin, calling for the physio at the change of ends after the ninth game. He went on to win 6-1 6-4 6-4  in Paris on Thursday.

"Thankfully it's nothing major so it's not a concern for the next match," Djokovic said. "It wasn't pleasant with the conditions that were changing today, and I think a little bit of heavier conditions made the court a little bit more wet and it was pretty slippery.''

Apart from the injury scare it was a straightforward victory for the Serb, who dropped serve only once.

He next faces Australia's hot prospect Thanasi Kokkinakis, with a potential quarter-final clash against nine-times Roland Garros champion Rafa Nadal looming.

The men's favourites were largely untroubled, as defending champion Rafa Nadal and in-form Andy Murray reaching the third round.

All eyes have been on Nadal as the Spaniard battles to rediscover his mojo in time for a bid for a record-extending 10th French Open title, but there were few weaknesses on show as he beat compatriot Nicolas Almagro with relative ease.

Nadal took his stunning Roland Garros record to 68-1 with a routine 6-4 6-3 6-1 victory - his fourth without dropping a set against Almagro.

Third seed Murray was given a fight by Portugal's Joao Sousa, but came through 6-2 4-6 6-4 6-1 to set up an eye-catching clash against Australian trailblazer Nick Kyrgios.

Kokkinakis beat compatriot Bernard Tomic, coming from two sets down and saving three match points before prevailing 3-6 3-6 6-3 6-4 8-6.

Williams battles, Wozniacki out

The pre-tournament shortlist of favourites for the French Open women's crown continued to shrink and for a while it looked as though the top name, Serena Williams, would also vanish on Thursday.

Shortly after former world number one Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out by Julia Goerges, meaning the third, fifth and sixth seeds had all gone before round three, Williams (33) faced unheralded 21-year-old German Anna-Lena Friedsam.

It looked like a mismatch but 105th-ranked Friedsam gave the 19-times grand slam champion a torrid time on Court Suzanne Lenglen, taking the first set off the American before a nervy Williams recovered to scrape into the third round 5-7 6-3 6-3.

Twice former champion Williams has suffered at the French before, namely last year when she was beaten by Spain's Garbine Muguruza at the same stage and more memorably in 2012 when France's Virginie Razzano knocked her out in round one.

With the American's trademark groundstrokes regularly sailing over the baseline and even her fearsome serve deserting her in the first set - she was broken three times - another blot on her incredible grand slam record looked possible.

Even when she led 4-2 in the second set, Williams looked shaky, going 0-40 down and dropping serve, but once she got level and broke Friedsam's serve at the start of the decider she finally began to relax. She will have to sharpen up considerably against former world number one Victoria Azarenka in the next round.

Denmark's Wozniacki joined the exodus of women's seeds, which includes Romanian third seed Simona Halep, last year's runner-up, and number six Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, by losing 6-4 7-6(4) to Goerges on a blustery court.

Fourth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova survived her own trial, however, coming back to beat Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 despite 54 unforced errors.

Some of the biggest cheers came elsewhere at the tournament.

On Court One, nicknamed the Bull Ring, former women's champions Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova battled toe-to-toe for three hours and 50 minutes before Italian Schiavone prevailed 6-7(11) 7-5 10-8.

Russian Kuznetsova served for the match four times in the third set and had one match point which Schiavone, 34, saved with a magical backhand before the Italian summoned one last effort to edge ahead and clinch a memorable victory.

 

Add a Comment