French Open 2023 Results: Instant Reactions to Winners and Losers from Friday
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic delivered two different types of straight-set wins at the 2023 French Open on Friday.
Alcaraz looked stronger as his match with Denis Shapovalov went on, while Djokovic battled through a pair of tiebreaks against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
They are now one step closer to a semifinal showdown at Roland Garros.
The field cleared a bit for Djokovic's semifinal path, as No. 7 seed Andrey Rublev became the fourth top-10 seed to be eliminated from the men's draw.
The carnage continued in the women's singles draw, as third-seeded American Jessica Pegula dropped out in straight sets against Elise Mertens.
No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka appears to have a clear path to the final from the bottom half of the draw, but her path could be more treacherous than the draw suggests.
Friday Results
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Men's Singles
No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz def. No. 26 Denis Shapovalov, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Novak Djokovic def. No. 29 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2
No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Diego Schwartzman, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
Lorenzo Sanego def. No. 7 Andrey Rublev, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3
No. 11 Karen Khachanov def. Thanasi Kokkinakis, 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti def. No. 14 Cameron Norrie, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
Sebastian Ofner def. Fabio Fognini, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
Women's Singles
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka def. Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-2, 6-2
No. 28 Elise Mertens def. No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 6-1, 6-3
No. 9 Daria Kasatkina def. Peyton Stearns, 6-0, 6-1
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. No. 24 Anastasia Potapova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
Karolina Muchova def. No. 27 Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-3, 6-2
Sloane Stephens def. Yulia Putintseva, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Elina Svitolina def. Anna Blinkova, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
Elina Avanesyan def. Clara Tauson, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic Continue Semifinal Collision Course
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Alcaraz and Djokovic are now two wins away from facing each other in one of the most anticipated semifinal matches in recent French Open history.
Alcaraz had the smoother day inside Court Philippe-Chatrier than Djokovic.
The top-seeded Spaniard was on the red clay for one hour and 26 minutes fewer than the 22-time major champion, and that could play a role later in the tournament if both players are pushed past three sets.
Alcaraz controlled his third-round battle with Shapovalov, as he produced eight more winners, 15 fewer unforced errors and won 73 percent of his first-serve points compared to 56 percent for Shapovalov.
Djokovic experienced more stress against Davidovich Fokina, especially in the two sets that went to tiebreaks.
Davidovich Fokina tried to wear out Djokovic, but he was unable to maintain that pace in the third set, when Djokovic pulled away.
Djokovic noted the physicality of the three-set match.
"I don't remember when I played last time three hours, two sets. Maybe against Nadal in one of our matches," Djokovic told reporters. "This was looking like if I lost one of the first two sets, it was looking like it was going to go four, five hours. It was just a kind of a day and conditions that were I think very challenging for both players physically."
The No. 3 seed did catch a small break on Friday, as Rublev fell in five sets. No top-10 seeds stand in the way of Djokovic and the semifinal.
Alcaraz may have to deal with Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal. The fifth-seeded Greek won in straight sets on Friday and he faces qualifier Sebastian Ofner in the fourth round.
A fresh Tsitsipas could challenge Alcaraz and level out the time on court between the top seed and Djokovic prior to the semifinal.
Sabalenka One of Three Seeded Players Left in Bottom Half of Women's Draw
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Sabalenka surged into the fourth round for the first time at Roland Garros on Friday.
The No. 2 seed picked up her third consecutive straight-set victory on the Paris clay to further install herself as the favorite to reach the final from the bottom half.
Sabalenka has lost more than three games in one of her six sets, and she enters the second week fresh after she spent just 67 minutes on the court in the third round.
She is one of three seeded women left in the bottom half, but do not let the unseeded tags of the remaining players fool you.
Sloane Stephens, Sabalenka's fourth-round opponent, is a three-time French Open quarterfinalist and she was the runner-up in 2018.
Elina Svitolina, who faces No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina next, also qualified for the final eight on three occasions in Paris.
Three of the four other women in the bottom half have multiple Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the 2021 runner-up in Paris, while Elise Mertens and Karolina Muchova each have one major semifinal appearance on their resumes.
Elina Avanesyan, who got into the tournament as a lucky loser, is the only woman in the fourth round of the bottom half without a deep run at a major.
The quality throughout the bottom half could set up four fascinating fourth-round battles, all of which have the potential to go three sets.
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