French Open 2022: Honour to have football legends watch us play, says Djokovic
World No 1 Novak Djokovic just took an hour and 44 minutes to defeat Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-3 6-2 in the third round of the French Open 2022 on Friday.
FollowDefending champion Novak Djokovic produced another stellar display as he reached the French Open fourth round on Friday without dropping a set all week. The Serbian won 6-3 6-3 6-2 - saving one breakpoint in the third set - against Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene.
The top seed remains on course for a potential quarter-final meeting with Spain's 13-time champion Rafael Nadal. Standing between the World No.1 and possibly a 59th career meeting with the 13-time French Open champion is Argentine 15th seed Diego Schwartzman, his last-16 opponent.
Also read:Â French Open 2022: Nadal-fan Zidane believes Alcaraz will eventually take over
After a disrupted start to 2022, the 20-time Grand Slam winner is starting to look at his best and will face his biggest test this year at Roland Garros against 2020 semi-finalist Schwartzman, who beat 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 6-1 6-2.
Former Arsenal manager was in attendance as Djokovic cruised to victory. Following his win, the 35-year-old admitted it helped him to have the Frenchman watching during his match.
Djokovic advanced to the second week of the French Open, extending his record over the world No 195 to four wins and zero losses. And it was a star-studded affair as Wenger, Clarence Seedorf and Zinedine Zidane all watched on from their seats on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
After the match, Djokovic stated that he was given extra motivation when he noticed Wenger in the crowd. "It's an honour to have legends of the football world come to watch myself and most of the tennis players," the Serbian said.
"We're fans of football, so we know them. We follow them, watch the teams and the nations, and watch all the competitions, so it is a great feeling when someone of their level of success and personality comes to watch us live. It gives you a bit more motivation," the defending champion at Roland Garros added.
Also read:Â Real Madrid or Liverpool: Who will win the Champions League? Yellow turtle predicts
Djokovic was one of the players who went to the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this month during the Madrid Masters to watch the second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City.
And the Serbian could be in the stands for the final at the Stade de France, with Saturday marking his day off at the tournament. At the showpiece event, Real Madrid will be aiming for a 14th European Cup, while Liverpool will hope to add to their EFL Cup and FA Cup successes this season.
