Novak Djokovic Beats Fernando Verdasco, Advances to 2018 French Open Quarters

Novak Djokovic needed just three sets to book his quarter-final spot in the 2018 French Open, beating Fernando Verdasco on Sunday 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

While the Serb wasn't at his best, Verdasco was unable to capitalise on most of his break chances, and he was second-best in the rallies.

The match started off with a bang as the first four games offered plenty of break chances on both sides.

As shared by Live Tennis, the two fought hard to gain an early advantage:

It was Djokovic who would find the breakthrough in the fourth game, and the Serb didn't waste any time after grabbing the break, pushing his advantage all the way to a set win. Verdasco would have one more solid hold but couldn't make any inroads in the rallies.

Djokovic continued his positive momentum in the second set, but things didn't always run smoothly, as he hit plenty of unforced errors. As noted by Record's Jose Morgado, both he and Verdasco partly blamed the state of the court for some of their struggles, and others have done so as well in Paris:

The sloppy nature of the match was perhaps best illustrated midway through the second set when Djokovic tried to defend a break. He sent three straight shots flying into the net, suffering a break to love, but grabbed another break soon after as Verdasco also couldn't keep his composure.

The Spaniard started to visibly slow down in the rallies toward the end of the set and soon required the help of his trainer:

Djokovic broke serve in the first game of the third set, and with Verdasco struggling to keep up, the final set proved to be a cakewalk for the Serb. Another unforced error gave him a second break, just about ending the contest, and Djokovic finished the job on his own serve.

He'll face the winner of the match between David Goffin and Marco Cecchinato on Tuesday. The two were in the midst of an epic battle while Djokovic was on court.