Djokovic beats Khachanov to reach French Open quarters for record 11th straight year
Top seed from Serbia to face No. 17 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain
Novak Djokovic reached the French Open quarter-finals for the 11th consecutive year, extending his own Open-era record at the tournament.
The top-seeded Djokovic faced his toughest challenge yet this year at Roland Garros but still won rather easily against No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 at Court Philippe Chatrier, taking the last four games.
The stadium's new $55 million US retractable roof was shut because of a heavy downpour.
Djokovic has won all 12 sets he's played in Paris this year and dropped a total of only 25 games so far. He lost five games in each of his first three matches.
WATCH | Djokovic extends his French Open quarter-final streak:
This victory puts Djokovic in his 47th Grand Slam quarter-final, second only to Roger Federer's 57.
Djokovic is seeking a second French Open championship and 18th major trophy overall. Among men, only Federer, with 20, and Rafael Nadal, with 19, have more.
Djokovic will face No. 17 seed Pablo Carreno Busta next.
Kenin in quarter-finals at Roland Garros for 1st time
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin turned things around at the French Open after a poor opening set to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time.
The No. 4-seeded Kenin beat the 49th-ranked Fiona Ferro 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 at Court Philippe Chatrier. Ferro was the last French man or woman still around in singles.
Chair umpire Marijana Veljovic warned Kenin's father, Alexander, for coaching, which is not allowed during Grand Slam matches. Alexander Kenin had changed seats during the match to be right next to Ferro's coach, Emmanuel Planque, who was closer to the court.
Kenin upset Serena Williams at last year's French Open en route to making it to the fourth round. But until now, the 21-year-old American had never been to the quarterfinals at any clay-court tournament.
She won her first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park at the start of this season and now is 14-1 at major tournaments in 2020.
Kvitova halts 8-year quarter-final drought
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova reached the French Open quarter-finals for the first time in eight years by beating Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-4.
The seventh-seeded Czech player lost her only semifinal match at Roland Garros in 2012.
Zhang had a medical timeout while trailing 5-2 in the first set.
Kvitova sat waiting wrapped in a pink coat to combat the chilly conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier. She then did some leg exercises to keep warm.
The 30-year-old Kvitova will next face Laura Siegemund. The unseeded German beat Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals at a major tournament for the first time.
Crowd size to remain 1,000
There will still be crowds for the final week of French Open after Paris police decided not to reduce the limit of 1,000 spectators per day.
Paris police chief Didier Lallement said bars in Paris will close for two weeks from Tuesday as part of new measures to slow coronavirus infections.
But he maintained the current limit of 1,000 spectators at sports events in Paris and specifically noted the clay-court tournament at Roland Garros.
The decision will come as a relief to players as many have said how much they appreciate having spectators even in much smaller numbers than normal.
In other matches Monday:
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No. 5-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 13-seeded Andrey Rublev reached the last eight at Roland Garros for the first time. Tsitsipas won against No. 18-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-2, and Rublev beat unseeded Marton Fucsovics 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Rublev next faces Tsitsipas, having beaten him on clay in the Hamburg Open final last month.
