Novak Djokovic, with his path to the French Open 2016 final cleared even more following the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal, will look for a serene passage into the quarterfinals when he faces Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round at Roland Garros on Monday. As expected, Djokovic has been supreme so far in the tournament, and nobody looks capable of stopping the world number one on his side of the draw.
While the likes of Andy Murray or Stanislas Wawrinka, the man who beat him in the final last year, lies in wait in the summit clash, on paper, at least, Djokovic has very little to worry about until then. In the fourth round, the defending Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion will face No.14 seed Bautista Agut, with a win then likely to set him up for a clash against either Tomas Berdych or David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.
While both of those are accomplished players, and the same can be said of Bautista Agut as well, they really don't look capable of stopping Djokovic at the moment.
The Serbian, desperate to not have to come over on Sunday to finish off his third round match, fought against fading light to dismiss Aljaz Bedene 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in just a shade over two hours.
"In the beginning, I just focused on my performance," Djokovic said after his straight sets win on Saturday. "I tried to come up with the right tactics and execution of the tactics, which I did, I think.
"Then (in the third set) the night show started. I dropped my serve, the games were very long, Pascal (Maria, the chair umpire) was on fire. He was coming down from his chair. Yeah, and we went deep into night. We played to the maximum extent of time we could, I think, with the light. I'm just glad I managed to finish (before bad light halted play)."
There should be no such worry for Djokovic this time around, considering he is scheduled to play early on Monday. And if the Serbian continues to play the kind of tennis he has over the past 12 months, this fourth round encounter will be over in a hurry.
Where to Watch Live
Update: The score is at 3-6, 6-4, 4-1 in Djokovic's favour, with the match set to continue on Wednesday. Novak Djokovic vs Roberto Bautista Agut is the second match on the Philippe Chatrier Court, with the first match set for an 11 a.m local time (2:30 p.m IST, 10 a.m BST, 5 a.m ET) start. Here are all the TV and live streaming options.
India: TV: Neo Sports and Neo Prime.
Europe: TV: Eurosport. Live Streaming: Eurosport Player.
UK: TV: ITV. Live Streaming: ITV Player.
USA: TV: Tennis Channel, ESPN and NBC. Live Streaming: Tennis Channel live,Watch ESPN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel Play.
Middle East and North Africa: TV: BeIN Sports. Live Streaming: BeIN Sports Connect.
Asia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Play.
International: Radio: Roland Garros Radio.
