Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played the match of the decade, and maybe the century, at Roland Garros

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has now reached at least the fourth round in Paris 19 times in 21 main-draw appearances, lighting up the Court Philippe-Chatrier night session during the nearby Champions League final, advancing in two hours and eight minutes.

"I don't know if it was good for me to get this scheduled slot because it was interesting," Djokovic said in the mixed zone after the match. "The crowd was really following the game and I could hear once they scored. It was way too many times that they were celebrating. It was like, 'Wow, there's a lot of goals for Paris. It's quite a result, to be honest.

"Night sessions are always different. They're always louder; the people are more excited and everything is very different from the day session. I knew that I was going to have to be scheduled to play at least once at night, but it's ok. I would be watching football for sure. Right now, we're in Paris and they won it for the first time, so I don't know how we're all going to go back to our hotels. It's going to be quite a journey, quite an adventure. But I think we're in for a long celebration and probably not much sleep tonight. It's a fun night to be in Paris, I guess."

Djokovic was 0-2 through the first half of the clay-court season after opening-round losses in both Monte Carlo and Madrid, but now takes a seven-match winning streak into the Round of 16, where he’ll face a Gonet Geneva Open rematch against Cameron Norrie.

Djokovic has now reached at least the fourth round of Roland Garros 19 times out of 21 main-draw appearances.

Advertising

Norrie took a set from Djokovic en route to the Serb’s 100th ATP title, and the former BNP Paribas Open champion is enjoying a surge of his own after knocking out former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the first round earlier this week, winning his last two rounds in straight sets.

Djokovic will present an entirely different challenge if his first week in Paris is any indication, the 38-year-old playing more than four games in a set once so far—a third-set tiebreaker against Corentin Moutet in the second round.

"I've played nine out of nine sets won. Tonight, I was solid when I needed to be, maybe could have won the second set also with the double break. But credit to Filip for really coming up with some great points, great shots and really playing courageous tennis. I think he did surprise me a little bit with the level. Even though I know him and trained with him, I've never faced him in an official match. Kudos to him, and it was a nice little exchange at the net. We speak the same language even though he plays for Austria, he's Croatian with a Croatian family and background. It's nice to see him doing well.

"On my side, there's always something to improve, something to get better at, but overall, I have to be pleased with the level of tennis so far."

Djokovic will next face former world No. 8 Cameron Norrie for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Advertising

Against a relatively inexperienced qualifier in Milosic, who is playing only his second Grand Slam main draw and was coming off a five-set victory over No. 27 seed Danis Shapovalov, Djokovic won all the key points to put himself in a winning position, claiming the lone breaks of the first and second sets to earn a commanding lead.

Djokovic broke a third time to open the third set and saw another opening to shorten the match when he claimed an insurance break up 4-2, allowing him the opportunity to serve for the match.

Digging out of 15-30 in the final game, Djokovic ended the match in vintage fashion, nailing an low volley following an audacious approach to net.

Djokovic will next look to win a sixth straight match against Norrie, who won an all-British third round against Jacob Fearnley earlier in the day.

Advertising