Applied from the first ball, with hardly any distractions, Novak Djokovic passed over Juan Pablo Varillas and qualified for the sixteenth time for the Roland Garros quarterfinals, after winning 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2, in one hour and 57 minutes. Karen Khachanov awaits him, whom he has defeated in eight of his nine crosses. No one has stepped on the penultimate round as many times as the Serbian. The Peruvian, who had appeared in the round of 16 almost from nowhere, consuming the five sets in all his previous meetings, says goodbye after a very remarkable tournament. No player of his nationality had gone so far in Paris since Jaime Yzaga did in 1994. It entered as number 94 and comes out as 60.

Rods soon found that the weapons that had served him against Shang, Bautista and Hurkacz were not enough against the two-time champion of the tournament and holder of 22 Grand Slam titles. Only a resounding error in an easy ball at half court prevented the score of the first set from being even more comfortable for Nole, again faced with part of the stands, the victim of boos, again gesticulating and susceptible to the warmth with which he was hosted his feisty opponent, undoubtedly one of the names of this edition of the tournament.

Djokovic dominated with ease and appears in the quarterfinals without having given up a single set, being the third round match against the Spanish Alejandro Davidovich, with two tiebreakers and three hours and 35 minutes, where he was most demanded.. As might be expected, his timid passage through the previous tournaments on clay has not been an obstacle to finding him again where he is used to, reaffirming himself as one of the candidates for the final victory.

“I am happy with the level of tennis that I have developed against a very consistent player,” he said at the foot of the court, after thanking the spectators for their presence and their time..