Two days after battling through a five-set marathon, Juan Martin del Potro did not waste any time in securing his spot in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros.

Del Potro made quick work of Australia’s Jordan Thompson on Saturday, claiming a comprehensive 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 win in exactly two hours. One year after reaching the semi-finals, the eighth seed is streaking towards a repeat run on the terre battue.

The Tandil native sprinted out of the gates on Court Simonne-Mathieu, breaking to open the match. Thompson did well to fight back, drawing level at 3-all, but a determined Del Potro refused to engage in extended rallies and would break right back.

He would eventually surge to a two-set lead, and with a five-set marathon win over Yoshihito Nishioka fresh in his memory, the Argentine was eager to finish off the Aussie in efficient fashion. Three breaks in the third set would see him cross the finish line. Del Potro launched 38 winners in total, while hitting just 16 unforced errors.

A fully healthy Del Potro is a daunting sight as the second week beckons at Roland Garros. He is coming off a quarter-final finish at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, which was just his second tournament back in his recovery from a fractured knee.

The Argentine will next face another big hitter in Russian Karen Khachanov, who stopped Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 in their third round clash. Khachanov, seeded 10th in Paris, has equalled his best Grand Slam result. The 23-year-old has reached the second week in all three main draw appearances at the clay-court major.

Khachanov, who captured his 100th tour-level match win earlier in the week, is rounding into form in the French capital. He has dropped just one set en route to the fourth round, also downing Cedrik-Marcel Stebe and wild card Gregoire Barrere.

“I think from my side it was a solid match,” said Khachanov. “I think he was a little bit tired after two five-setters, so I felt it from the beginning. And I think that’s what was the main key for me, to try to move him, to not give him some easy shots, because he’s a dangerous guy. He’s going for his shots. He’s very unpredictable.

“And I think I did well from the beginning. In the second set, I had a little bit ups and downs at the beginning of the set. And it was most likely the deciding, mentally, for him and for me.”

The Russian was on cruise control from the start against Klizan, breaking three times in the opening set. He would eventually close out the convincing win on his third match point, converting seven of nine break chances for the one-hour and 41-minute victory.

Del Potro leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Khachanov 3-0, with all three encounters coming in 2018. He kicked off the season with a straight sets victory in Auckland, followed by a four-set win in the Australian Open second round and another triumph later in the year in Beijing.

It has been quite the journey for Stan Wawrinka to 500th match wins (500-290), earned today with victory over Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the Roland Garros fourth round. Wawrinka will rightly savour his fight from knee surgeries two summers ago and feel positive about the future in his ‘second’ career.

Speaking exclusively to ATPTour.com, Wawrinka said, “The level on our tour is extremely high and you suffer a lot to get to 500 match wins, trust me! So it means a lot to hit the milestone, but I’m not done yet. Let’s keep working hard and start the road to 600!

“I do feel like I’m having a second career, somehow, since I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to come back. There were many doubts and long weeks on crutches. But I’m happy that I got through that and that I got a chance to compete again and do what I love. I missed the competition, the tour and of course the fans. It feels great to be back.”

WAWRINKA’S MILESTONE MATCH WINS

Wawrinka first spent 22 weeks in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings in 2008, but his game, centred on his immaculate timing and one-two punches off his serve and forehand were not yet perfected in comparison to his single-handed backhand. It took a combination of factors for the Swiss to return to the Top 10 — the goal of any tennis player, but requiring consistency week-in, week-out — five years later.

“Winning the doubles gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games [d. Aspelin/T. Johansson] was important, as I was able to step up when needed, and Roger [Federer] and I worked very well as a team there [in Beijing],” said Wawrinka. “Then, after splitting with Peter Lundgren, I was on my own for a while, which is something that worked very well for me. I learnt a lot about myself during that period, and also got some help from Severin Lüthi, who knows me very well.”

But the defining match that mentally triggered Wawrinka’s career resurgence came on 20 January 2013 in an absorbing Australian Open dog-fight against Novak Djokovic, who won 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 12-10 in four hours for a place in the quarter-finals.

“It was one of the key matches of my career,” said Wawrinka. “I saw that I could compete with the very best and that was a key moment for me. Then, a few months later, I started working with Magnus [Norman], which was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Those are all pieces of a puzzle that came together in the end when I made it back into the Top 10 and started an amazing phase of my career.”

Yet it wasn’t until almost four months later, on 13 May, that Wawrinka solidified his position again among the Top 10 elite and entered the best period of his career, which included three major championship crowns — the 2014 Australian Open (d. Nadal), 2015 Roland Garros and the 2016 US Open (d. Djokovic both times) — when he overpowered his rivals. His lone ATP Masters 1000 crown, a pulsating 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Federer, at the 2014 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, also proved to be a highly emotional moment.

“Winning a Grand Slam title had always been a dream of mine,” said Wawrinka. “But until you win it, it always seems like a dream and something that is quite far away. Once I reached the final in Australia, I obviously knew that I was only one step away from it, but facing Rafa didn’t make it easier. I had been playing very well during those two weeks in Melbourne and that’s when I realised that there was actually a chance that my dream could come through.

“Then winning Monte-Carlo meant a lot to me too. It remains my only Masters 1000 title and everyone knows how tough it is to win those tournaments. Qualifying four times for the [Nitto] ATP Finals is also another achievement that I’m very proud of — being one of the Top 8 players at the end of the season shows that you’ve done a lot of great things during the year. I made it to the semi-finals [in London] three times.”

Today, as a senior statesman of the ATP Tour, for which he served as a Player Council representative from 2014 to 2016, Wawrinka has often used his status for the greater benefit of the sport. And as his on-court performances improve, rewarding his endeavour outside of the tramlines, the 34-year-old is close to returning to the Top 20 for the first time since 5 March 2018 (at No. 11). In the 22 months since his two left knee surgeries, Wawrinka has vaulted back from No. 263 almost 12 months ago (11 June 2018) and once again his rivals are looking over their shoulders again.

“I’m very happy with how I played [at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament] in Rotterdam,” said Wawrinka. “It was a bit of a ‘renaissance’ week for me, and reaching the final, and playing against Gael [Monfils], who is a good friend of mine, was quite emotional. As of now my goal is to play well, be consistent and stay healthy. I’ve always said that the ranking comes with the results, but I never focused on the numbers. If I play well, my ATP Ranking will go up automatically. My passion is my job, that’s a great privilege.”

Wawrinka is the 49th player in the Open Era (since April 1968) to have recorded 500 match wins in their career, and the ninth active competitor to hit the milestone – following in the footsteps of Federer (1,205), Rafael Nadal (946), Djokovic (861), Andy Murray (663), Tomas Berdych (639), Fernando Verdasco (535), Tommy Robredo (533) and Richard Gasquet (524). David Ferrer, who recently retired at the Mutua Madrid Open, compiled 734 victories.

CAREER 500 MATCH WINS CLUB (Active players as of 1 June 2019)

Top seed Novak Djokovic continues his quest for the “Nole Slam” on Saturday at Roland Garros. Joining him in third-round action are Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Juan Martin del Potro.

Djokovic faces Italian qualifier Salvatore Caruso, who had never won a main draw Grand Slam match prior to this week. The top seed has dropped just eight games in each of his first two rounds. Djokovic, who has won his past 23 Grand Slam matches, hasn’tt lost before the quarter-finals in Paris since 2009. He holds a 65-13 record at the second major of the year.

Fourth seed Thiem will have a stern test against Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas. The Austrian leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 3-2 and won their most recent clash this February at the Argentina Open. Thiem needed four sets to prevail in each of his first two rounds, but continues to excel here and holds an 18-3 record since 2016. The 33-year-old Cuevas hasn’t dropped a set this tournament. He finished runner-up last month at the Millennium Estoril Open (l. to Tsitsipas) and recorded semi-final showings at the Argentina Open and Rio Open presented by Claro.

Fifth seed Zverev continues his quest for a Grand Slam breakthrough against No. 30 seed Dusan Lajovic of Serbia. Zverev won their only FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting in a five-set clash last year at this event. Zverev is on a six-match winning streak after saving two championship points to prevail last week at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open (d. Jarry). Lajovic, who hasn’t dropped a set this week, achieved his best result last month with a runner-up finish at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Fognini).

Del Potro takes on Aussie Jordan Thompson, who is competing in the third round of a major for the first time. The eighth-seeded Argentine needed five sets and nearly four hours to move past Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka on Thursday. Del Potro is competing in just his fourth tournament of the year due to a right knee injury, but held two match points against Djokovic in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-finals before falling in three sets.

Rounding out Saturday’s action is ninth-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 10 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia taking on Slovakian Martin Klizan. Croatian Borna Coric, the No. 13 seed, meets German Jan-Lennard Struff and No. 14 seed Gael Monfils faces wild card Antoine Hoang in an all-French battle.

Two matches suspended by darkness on Friday will also be completed on Saturday. Sixth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas leads Serbian Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-3, 5-5, while Swiss Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion and No. 24 seed, leads Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(5), 7-6(4).

More On #RG19

* Laver Talks Djokovic’s Chase For ‘Nole Slam’
* Djokovic & Nadal’s Year-End No. 1 Battle Heats Up
* Mike Bryan Celebrates 500 Weeks As ATP Doubles No. 1

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, 1 JUNE 2019

Court Philippe-Chatrier start 11:00
WTA match
[6] Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Filip Krajinovic TF 75 63 55
[1] Novak Djokovic vs [Q] Salvatore Caruso
[14] Gael Monfils vs [WC] Antoine Hoang
WTA match

Court Suzanne Lenglen start 11:00
[9] Fabio Fognini vs [18] Roberto Bautista Agut
WTA match
[4] Dominic Thiem vs Pablo Cuevas
WTA match

Court Simonne-Mathieu start 11:00
[5] Alexander Zverev vs [30] Dusan Lajovic
WTA match
[8] Juan Martin del Potro vs Jordan Thompson

Court 1 start 11:00
WTA match
[24] Stan Wawrinka vs Grigor Dimitrov TF 76(5) 76(4)
WTA match
[10] Karen Khachanov vs Martin Klizan

Court 14 start 11:00
WTA match
[13] Borna Coric vs Jan-Lennard Struff
[13] Nicolas Mahut / Jurgen Melzer vs Kevin Krawietz / Andreas Mies

Court 7 start 11:00
WTA match
[3] Juan Sebastian Cabal / Robert Farah vs Leander Paes / Benoit Paire

Court 6 start 11:00
WTA match
[7] Mike Bryan / Bob Bryan vs [10] Jean-Julien Rojer / Horia Tecau
Mixed doubles match
[1] Lukasz Kubot / Marcelo Melo vs Jeremy Chardy / Fabrice Martin

Court 13 start 11:00
Mixed doubles match
Cheng-Peng Hsieh / Christopher Rungkat vs [WC] Gregoire Barrere / Quentin Halys
WTA match and mixed doubles match
Mikhail Kukushkin / Joran Vliegen vs Federico Delbonis / Guillermo Duran

Juan Ignacio Londero defeated home favourite Corentin Moutet 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in three hours and 28 minutes on Friday to reach the fourth round of Roland Garros. The Argentine, who won his maiden ATP Tour title at the Cordoba Open in February, hit 53 winners and broke serve six times to move past the 20-year-old Frenchman.

Next up for the 25-year-old is 11-time champion Rafael Nadal, the second seed. It will be Londero’s second match against a Top 10 opponent, having lost to 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev this year in Munich.

Here are five things to know about the 25-year-old Argentine:

1. This is Londero’s first Grand Slam main draw.
Before this event, Londero had competed in a Grand Slam qualifying draw eight times. Twice, at the 2014 US Open and 2018 Roland Garros, he made the final round, but was unable to advance to the main draw. The Argentine did not need to go through qualifying for this tournament because his ATP Ranking gained him direct entry.

Londero has taken full advantage of his Roland Garros debut, becoming the first man to reach the fourth round on his major debut since David Goffin reached the Round of 16 at 2012 Roland Garros. Londero is the fourth man to reach the fourth round on his Roland Garros debut since Goffin in 2012, following Dusan Lajovic (2014), Karen Khachanov (2017) and Maximilian Marterer (2018).

2. He began the year without a tour-level win.
Entering the Cordoba Open, Londero was 0-3 in tour-level matches. But as a wild card, he reached the final without dropping a set. Then, in the championship match against countryman Guido Pella, Londero trailed by a set and a break before pulling off a massive comeback to win his first ATP Tour title.

Few players have celebrated such runs. Belgian Steve Darcis was 0-2 entering Amersfoort when he qualified and won the title in 2007. Spain’s Santiago Ventura had never played a tour-level match when he qualified for Casablanca in 2004 and then captured the crown.

3. Londero never believed he would win a title.
There is no doubt that Londero’s run in Cordoba was one dreams are made of. But the Argentine himself didn’t even dream that big.

“I’ll speak from the heart: I never expected to win a tournament, not even close. Never thought about it. But I knew I could reach a semi-final, a few quarter-finals maybe. The truth is that I had doubts, but it is not that [the title] fell from the sky,” Londero said after his triumph. “I have done a great job. I have been playing very well and working hard… it was not a coincidence that I had this result. But still, I did not expect it.”

4. The Argentine began working with a yoga teacher this year.
After lifting the trophy in Cordoba, Londero thanked his team, and added that he began working with a yoga teacher in 2019. The Argentine also credited his psychologist in addition to his coaching staff.

5. He loves The Rock.
Londero’s favourite ______ is…
Movie: The Fast and the Furious
Actor: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Superhero: Batman
Book: Romeo and Juliet
Television: MTV
Music: Electronic
Guilty Pleasure: Food

Stefanos Tsitsipas will have to wait until Saturday to reach his first Round of 16 at Roland Garros. Greece’s #NextGenATP star was leading Serbian Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-3, 5-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier on Friday night when their third-round match was suspended because of darkness.

Tsitsipas came back from 2-5 down in the third set, which included a break at 3-5 when Krajinovic served for the set. The Serbian will serve when their match resumes on Saturday.

Tsitsipas is competing in his first Roland Garros Round of 32 after reaching only the second round last year. The sixth seed is looking to build on a European clay-court season that already includes the Millennium Estoril Open title and the Mutua Madrid Open final (l. to Djokovic).

Krajinovic, meanwhile, is going for his first Round of 16 appearance at a Grand Slam after falling in the third round in January at the Australian Open.

Read More: Krajinovic’s Journey: From Missing Deadline To Facing Tsitsipas

The winner of Tsitsipas-Krajinovic will meet the winner of Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov. Wawrinka had just taken 7-6(5), 7-6(4) lead when their third-round match was also suspended because of darkness. The 24^th seed and 2015 champion is 4-4 against Dimitrov in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.