Novak Djokovic strengthened his claims as a French Open contender by reaching the quarter-finals with a straight-set victory over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.

Djokovic, seeded 20th, won 6-3 6-4 6-2 against 30th seed Verdasco.

The 31-year-old Serb has reached the last eight at Roland Garros for a 12th time – an Open era record.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion will play Marco Cecchinato in the last eight after the Italian upset Belgian eighth seed David Goffin.

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Djokovic, who won his only Roland Garros title in 2016 to complete a career Grand Slam, was not considered among the pre-tournament favourites following an injury-hit year.

“Considering all the circumstances in the last 15 months it is quite an achievement to get to the quarters of a Slam,” said Djokovic, who has also reached the Roland Garros last eight for a ninth successive year.

“I always play well at a Slam and always build my form to peak at a Slam.

“Hopefully it will get even better. I don’t want to stop here.”

Djokovic easing through the draw

Former world number one Djokovic has dropped down the rankings to 22nd after taking time off with an elbow injury following last year’s Wimbledon. He also needed a minor operation after making a comeback at the Australian Open in January.

However, he is quietly going about his business in Paris and has dropped only one set on his way to the last eight.

Djokovic may still not playing at the same level as he was at the peak of his powers, but his movement and defensive ability – two of his great hallmarks – look good enough to trouble most opponents.

Greater tests than Verdasco, who had beaten Djokovic in three of their previous four meetings on clay but not since 2010, will lie ahead.

If Djokovic beats Cecchinato he will meet either German second seed Alexander Zverev or Austrian seventh seed Dominic Thiem – who have won more Tour matches in 2018 than any other player – in the last four.

He would not face 10-time champion Rafael Nadal – a rematch of the 2012 and 2014 finals – until the final.

Verdasco unable to match Dimitrov heights against Djokovic

Djokovic made a slow start in a one-hour opening set, which took longer than the entire match between American Sloane Stephens and Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit that had preceded it on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Errors from both players made it an entertaining, if not high quality, opener as they battled it out from the baseline.

Djokovic broke for 3-1, seeing out the decisive moments in a set where he won only three more points than his opponent.

The Serb broke serve at the first opportunity in the second set, Verdasco wiping out that deficit for 3-3, only to gift it straight back in a poor service game.

Verdasco, who beat fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the previous round, needed treatment for blisters as Djokovic was made to wait before serving out for two-love lead.

From that point there was no way back for the Spaniard, who was aiming to reach his first Roland Garros quarter-final at the 15th attempt.

The third set was straightforward for Djokovic, who broke at the first opportunity and again in the fifth, before serving out to win in two hours and 25 minutes.

He punched the air in delight before celebrating by wearing a white beret flung on to the court and doing his now-customary arm throw to all four sides of Chatrier.

“To be able to win that first set and get ahead was crucial. I made that break at 3-1 and held my serve, and that helped because I knew that if we went the distance then I had a good chance,” Djokovic said.

“In the most important moments I managed to play an extra shot in the court, made him run and made him uncomfortable.”

Second seed Alexander Zverev came through a third successive five-set match to see off Karen Khachanov and reach the French Open quarter-finals.

German Zverev, 21, beat the unseeded Russian 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-3 6-3 in three hours 29 minutes in an enthralling match in Paris.

It is the first time Zverev has reached the last eight of a Grand Slam.

He will play Austrian seventh seed Dominic Thiem, who beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-2 6-0 5-7 6-4.

Thiem, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros for the past two years, has won eight of his 10 ATP titles on clay and dominated on his favoured surface.

Japan’s Nishikori made his only break point of the match count to take the third set before Thiem regained control, breaking in the seventh game of the fourth set and sealing victory when Nishikori sent a forehand long.

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Zverev has climbed to number three in the world rankings despite never previously having gone beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam, achieved at Wimbledon last year.

At 6ft 6in, he has been touted as a future world number one, but glimpses of his potential were interspersed with a failure to close out vital points and a hint of fatigue.

Khachanov, 22, is another player with a bright future and looks particularly dangerous on clay.

But Zverev fought back from 2-1 down to win the final two sets and become the youngest quarter-finalist in Paris since a 20-year-old Juan Martin del Potro in 2009.

“I’m young, so I might as well stay on court and practise a little bit,” said Zverev. “It’s the best, a five-set match.

“I’ve been down 2-1 every single time but I’m unbelievably happy to be into the quarter-finals. All the hours in the gym have paid off.”

With 20-time major champion Roger Federer opting to sit out Roland Garros, Zverev is seen as the most likely challenger to world number one and 10-time champion Rafael Nadal for the title.

“I’m top three in the world now,” he added. “Other young guys are coming up strong – in the end we’ll be very high soon.

“With time we will see who can become the next Grand Slam champion, who can become the next world number one.

“Right now Roger and Rafa are dominating, but we are doing everything we can to change that.”

Another mammoth battle for Zverev

Zverev was taken to five sets by Dusan Lajovic in the second round and saved match point against Damir Dzumhur in the third round.

He enjoyed the perfect start on Court Suzanne Lenglen with a break of serve, but Khachanov hit back immediately and Zverev tossed his racquet in frustration at being asked to replay the point by a line judge after staving off two set points.

It was a brief reprieve as Khachanov’s aggressive volleying tactics earned him a third set-point chance and this time the Russian took it to clinch the opener.

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Madison Keys reached her first French Open quarter-final with a 6-1 6-4 win over Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu.

American 13th seed Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, broke serve in the second and sixth games before taking the first set with a powerful forehand.

She sealed the win with an ace on her third match point.

Sloane Stephens beat Anett Kontaveit 6-2 6-0 to set up a potential semi-final meeting with Keys, whom she beat in the final at Flushing Meadows.

“I was really pleased to get out and play some good tennis,” said the US Open champion.

American Stephens will face the winner of second seed Caroline Wozniacki’s fourth-round match against Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, which takes place later on Sunday.

Keys will play Yulia Putintseva in the last eight after the Kazakh beat Czech Barbora Strycova 6-4 6-3.

“I’m really excited to be in my first quarter-finals in Paris,” said Keys. “I lost to my friend Sloane in the US Open final last year but I hope for big things here.”

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Great Britain men’s team suffered a 2-0 defeat in the wheelchair tennis World Team Cup final in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

Former Wimbledon champion Gordon Reid lost the opening match to Takashi Sanada 2-6 6-3 7-5 before French Open champion Alfie Hewett went down 6-2 6-3 to Shingo Kunieda.

In the women’s event, Britain won bronze with a 2-0 success over France.

Louise Hunt and Lucy Shuker won their matches to seal victory.

Serena Williams says she does not have any negative feelings towards Maria Sharapova and is surprised the Russian’s recent autobiography was so much about her.

Williams described the book as “100% hearsay” and said women should encourage each other rather than detailing locker-room incidents in a less than positive light.

The pair will meet in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday in their first match since the 2016 Australian Open.

Williams has won their last 18 meetings, with Sharapova’s only two victories coming in 2004.

And it was the first of those – in the Wimbledon final – that Sharapova believes was the catalyst for Williams’ domination since.

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“I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon,” she wrote in her 2017 autobiography ‘Unstoppable: My Life So Far’.

“I think she hated me for seeing her at her lowest moment. But mostly I think she hated me for hearing her cry. She’s never forgiven me for it.”

Williams gave her first response to the book as she faced questions following her straight-set third-round victory over Julia Gorges in Paris.

“I think the book was 100% hearsay, which was a little bit disappointing,” she said.

“I have cried in the locker room many times after a loss, and that’s what I have seen a lot of people do.

“I think it’s normal. I think if anything, it shows the passion and the desire and, you know, the will that you have to want to go out there and do the best.

“I think what happens there should definitely maybe stay there and not necessarily talk about it in a not-so-positive way in a book.

“I don’t have any negative feelings towards her, which again, was a little disappointing to see in that hearsay book. A lot of people always assume that I feel a different way and it’s not true.

“Especially having a daughter – I feel like negativity is taught. If anything, I feel like we should encourage each other, and the success of one female should be the inspiration to another, and I have said that a thousand times.

“As a fan, I wanted to read the book and I was really excited for it to come out and I was really happy for her.

“And then the book was a lot about me. I was surprised about that, to be honest. I was, like: ‘Oh, okay, I didn’t expect to be reading a book about me, that wasn’t necessarily true’.

“I didn’t know she looked up to me that much, or was so involved in my career.”

Williams and Sharapova have won five French Open singles titles between them, and both have played extremely well over the first three rounds at Roland Garros.

Sharapova seems finally free of the injuries that have plagued her since returning from a 15-month doping ban in April last year.

Williams’ biggest concern may be a lack of matches. The French Open marks only her third competitive appearance since the 2017 Australian Open, which was her last tournament before becoming a mother in September.

“She’s probably a favourite in this match, for sure,” Williams said of Monday’s 22nd meeting between the pair.

“She’s been playing for over a year now. I just started. But I think this will be another test.

“I think this is just one of her best surfaces, and she always does really, really well here.”

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