Emma Raducanu bows out as Novak Djokovic eases through – French Open day four

Alexander Zverev had to come from two sets down and rising star Carlos Alcaraz also went the distance

Thursday 26 May 2022 04:30 BST

Emma Raducanu bowed out in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP) (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Emma Raducanu’s hopes of a deep run at Roland Garros were ended by the world number 47 Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal eased through but Alexander Zverev had to come from two sets down and rising star Carlos Alcaraz also went the distance to reach the third round.

Here, we take a look back at day four at the French Open.

Picture of the day

Carlos Alcaraz was pushed to the limit in his win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Jean-Francois Badias/AP) (AP)

Match of the day

Third seed Alexander Zverev found himself in the increasingly familiar position of trailing by two sets but battled back to beat Sebastian Baez of Argentina 2-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 7-5.

Shock of the day

Greek fourth seed Maria Sakkari came unstuck in two tie-breaks against world number 81 Karolina Muchova.

Quote of the day

I was planning my holiday in Monaco, where I was going to go and who I was going with and that relaxed me, thinking about the beach

Alexander Zverev

Collision course

Djokovic and Nadal remain on course for a blockbuster meeting in the quarter-finals.

Novak Djokovic won in straight sets (Thibault Camus/AP) (AP)

Defending champion Djokovic had few problems against Alex Molcan of Slovakia, the world number one winning 6-2 6-3 7-6 (4).

As did Rafael Nadal (Thibault Camus/AP) (AP)

Then Nadal, the 13-time Roland Garros king, dispatched Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-3 6-1 6-4 in the night match.

Hot streak

Fallen seeds

Women: Maria Sakkari (4), Emma Raducanu (12), Sorana Cirstea (26), Petra Kvitova (32).Men: Taylor Fritz (13).

Brit watch

Cameron Norrie swept into round three (Thibault Camus/AP) (AP)

Emma Raducanu made an excellent start against Aliaksandra Sasnovich but the British number one ran out of steam, going down 3-6 6-1 6-1. Cameron Norrie kept the British flag flying with a straight-sets win over Jason Kubler.

Next up

British number two Dan Evans will bid to reach the third round for the first time against Mikael Ymer of Sweden. The women take centre stage in the night match, with home hope Alize Cornet facing former champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering