2nd June, 2017
BBC/Reuters
Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a third-round scare at the French Open to beat unseeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman in five sets.
The Serb came back from two sets to one down to win 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1.
Djokovic, 30, finished strongly despite making 55 unforced errors and arguing with umpire Carlos Ramos over a conduct warning.
The second seed goes on to face France’s Lucas Pouille or Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
The presence of new coach Andre Agassi has yet to inspire the 12-time Grand Slam champion to rediscover the form that made him a seemingly untouchable world number one this time last year.
An erratic performance saw Djokovic hit 21 errors in relinquishing a 4-1 lead in the first set.
A late break in the second appeared to have settled the world number two, but Schwartzman – playing his first ever third-round match at a Grand Slam – was his equal throughout the third.
The 5ft 7in Argentine then broke serve for a 5-3 lead and remarkably recovered from 0-40 to serve out the set.
With the crowd now excited by the prospect of an upset, Djokovic finally took a firm grip on the match by quickening the pace and shortening the rallies.
It was not plain sailing, however, and despite racing into a 4-0 lead in the fourth set, Djokovic became embroiled in a row with umpire Ramos after receiving two warnings in a game – one of slow play, the second for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Clearly annoyed, the champion retained his focus on the job in hand and reeled off 12 of the last 14 games as dark clouds above threatened to delay his progress.
The victory was Djokovic’s 58th in the French Open and means he ties Guillermo Vilas in third place on the all-time list for most matches won at Roland Garros. He has a 58-11 win-loss record behind Rafael Nadal (75-2) and Roger Federer (65-16) while Vilas recorded 58-17.
-BBC