Grand Slam king hits century mark on Parisian clay
©Clément Mahoudeau / FFTNovak Djokovic (6) bt Cameron Norrie, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
Last week Novak Djokovic made history in Geneva when he became the third player to record 100 ATP titles. As is typically the case with the world-beating Serbian, he has already moved on to bigger milestones.
On Monday evening inside Court Philippe-Chatrier, the three-time RG champion defeated Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie to become the second player to record 100 wins at Roland-Garros.
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What a difference a year makes. Last year in Paris, Djokovic made it through four rounds as well, but only after battling across five sets in consecutive matchups against Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo to reach the quarter-finals.
The victory over Cerundolo would force his eventual withdrawal with a knee injury that required surgery the next day. This year‘s route to the quarter-finals has been less complicated. Djokovic has yet to drop a set and stretches his winning streak on the Parisian clay to 21 victories. The 38-year-old, last year’s Olympic gold medal winner inside Court Philippe-Chatrier, has not lost a match on the Parisian clay since he fell to Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals in 2022.
©Loïc Wacziak / FFTNorrie did his best to make things complicated for Djokovic, but the Brit’s best efforts were muted by the elevated play of the 24-time major champion.
Djokovic, who lengthened his current winning streak to eight with the win, was masterful from his baseline, opening the court with a variety of wide-angled groundstrokes. He played patiently, methodically probing the southpaw and waiting for his chances to take a more aggressive posture.
And when he was behind, as he was early in the second set, and later in the same set when he faced break points at 3-3, he played his most imperious tennis.
Djokovic dominated the short points and the long points. He won 21 of 28 rallies that lasted nine or more strokes.
Given the gauntlet of a draw that lies in front of him, it was of the utmost importance for Djokovic to get through his first four matches without too much energy spent. He did just that.
The Serb, who will now meet Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals, and would face Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals and Carlos Alcaraz in the final if the seeds hold, has only spent nine hours and 25 minutes on court through four rounds. He needed to save every ounce of energy for the challenge ahead and played with a sense of urgency to make it happen.
He has dropped more than four games in a set just twice through his first four matches.
©Loïc Wacziak / FFTAge is just a number.
At 38, Djokovic has become the oldest Roland-Garros quarter-finalist since Hungary’s Istvan Gulyas in 1971, and extended his perfect 19-0 record in fourth-round matches at Roland Garros. He has now reached the quarter-finals for 16 consecutive years.
Djokovic (100-16) contested his 116th match at Roland-Garros, equalling King of Clay Rafael Nadal for the most matches played at this event during the Open era; he also broke the record for the most quarter-finals reached by a player at a single Grand Slam event during the Open era, eclipsing Roger Federer’s 18 at Wimbledon.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
©Pauline Ballet / FFT