Tennis·ROUNDUP

Djokovic collects 100th career French Open win, defeating Norrie for quarterfinal berth

Novak Djokovic earned his 100th career French Open victory, a mark surpassed only by Rafael Nadal among men, by overwhelming Cam Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round Monday.

38-year-old Serbian has yet to drop a set this year at Roland Garros

Serbian athlete Novak Djokovic plays a backhand against Cameron Norrie of Great Britain during a fourth-round men’s singles tennis match at the French Open on June 2, 2025 in Paris, France.
Novak Djokovic had a pair of three-match losing streaks this season but seems to be in top form lately, including collecting his 100th title at the Geneva Open before arriving at the French Open. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic earned his 100th career French Open victory, a mark surpassed only by Rafael Nadal among men, by overwhelming Cam Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round Monday.

Djokovic hasn't ceded a set on his way to the quarterfinals this year at Roland-Garros, where he has won three of his 24 Grand Slam titles.

"I feel good. Every day, I have more expectations about my game, [and with] 12 sets played, 12 sets won, everything is solid and positive," Djokovic said.

The 38-year-old Serbian had a pair of three-match losing streaks this season but seems to be in top form lately, including collecting his 100th title at the Geneva Open the week before play began in Paris.

"He was solid today, and he didn't give me anything," Norrie said. "Defending well, serving well, returning well and very sharp."

Next up for Djokovic is a matchup against No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev on Wednesday for a berth in the semifinals. Zverev advanced Monday when his opponent, Tallon Griekspoor, quit in the second set with an abdominal strain.

"He definitely knows how to play tennis. He definitely knows what it means to be on the big stage and to play big matches," Zverev said about Djokovic. "There is no doubt about that."

Djokovic improved his record to 100-16 at the French Open. Nadal, who retired at the end of last season, went 112-4 while winning a record 14 championships at the clay-court major.

No. 5 Jack Draper out in 4th round

Alexander Bublik became the first man from Kazakhstan to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament, eliminating No. 5 Jack Draper 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

The 27-year-old Bublik dropped to the court, smudging himself with the red clay, when he finished off the biggest win of his career after about 2 1/2 hours.

"Sometimes in life, there is only one chance, and I had a feeling that that was mine and I couldn't let it slip," he told the crowd afterward. "Standing here is the best moment of my life. Period."

Moments later, he joked: "I'm standing here like I won the thing."

Bublik managed to produce a total of 68 winners, 31 more than the left-handed Draper.

At No. 62, Bublik is the lowest-ranked man to earn a pair of victories at Roland-Garros against opponents ranked in the top 10 since No. 100 Andrei Medvedev in 1999. Bublik came back from a two-set deficit to defeat No. 9 Alex de Minaur in the second round last week.

Gauff reaches women's quarterfinals

Coco Gauff might have earned her fifth consecutive trip to the French Open quarterfinals with a straight-set victory, but she still is catching flak because she forgot to bring her rackets to a match earlier in the tournament.

The No. 2-seeded Gauff, who won the 2023 U.S. Open and was the runner-up in Paris in 2022, has been engaging in a bit of back-and-forth with another American and Roland-Garros quarterfinalist, Frances Tiafoe, over the equipment blunder.

Tiafoe teasingly called the 21-year-old Gauff "Mrs. Mature." Gauff's retort: "I feel like maybe just playing tennis, it forces you to grow up faster for some people. Maybe not him."

It was Tiafoe who first made that very mistake back in March, showing up for a match at the tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., without his rackets. He got plenty of ribbing on social media and from other players, including Gauff.

So when Gauff went to Court Philippe-Chatrier for her first-round match last week and opened her bag only to realize there weren't any rackets inside, the 27-year-old Tiafoe was only too happy to call her out.

"She was full out shaking her whole bag like it was an empty cookie jar on Chatrier. I was like, 'What are you doing?' … I'm going to keep ripping her for a long time. I've never seen someone [ranked No. 2] in the world have zero things in her bag. That was incredible," said Tiafoe, who will play in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

"That kind of thing is so big because it just makes everyone (realize) we're all human. People make mistakes, whether it's the team or her or whatever," he said, then added with a smile: "That was a funny moment, especially (because) she tries to be Mrs. Mature. That was great. I'm happy it happened to her. Hopefully it happens again."

Gauff acknowledged she couldn't really offer much of a retort.

"I literally told him: 'From you, I expected it. From you, it's OK, but the fact that it happened to me … .' Because I feel like I'm a professional person, and usually I am someone, if anybody knows me, I'm someone that can find the comeback real quick. Even if I'm wrong, I'm one of those people that will still defend myself. I don't like losing arguments," Gauff said Monday after beating No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-0, 7-5 in the fourth round

Next for Gauff is an all-American matchup in Wednesday's quarterfinals against No. 7 Madison Keys, who won the Australian Open in January. Keys eliminated yet another American, Hailey Baptiste, 6-3, 7-5.

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