French Open: Novak Djokovic wins easily in a match filled with Champions League celebrations

PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round of the French Open for the 16th consecutive year with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over qualifier Filip Misolic on Saturday night in a match marked by noise from Paris Saint-Germain fans cheering for goals as they watched the Champions League final on their phones.

There also were frequent sounds of fireworks popping from PSG’s stadium, which is just a few blocks from Court Philippe-Chatrier. The French club won its first championship in the top soccer competition for European clubs, beating Italy’s Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich, Germany.

Djokovic originally was hoping to avoid playing at the same time as the soccer match so he could watch it on TV.

“It was interesting. The crowd was really following the game. And I could hear when they scored. It was way too many times that they were celebrating,” Djokovic said about the spectators in the Chatrier stands. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is a lot of goals from Paris! What’s going on?’ Now I heard it’s 5-0. Quite a result, to be honest.”

During one lengthy tennis point in the third set, some shouts accompanied PSG’s fourth goal, and afterward, the chair umpire asked the tennis ticket-holders spectators to keep it down, drawing boos and whistles in response.

“Night sessions are always different. They’re always louder. The people are always more excited. Everything is always loud and different from a day session,” said Djokovic, who has won all nine sets he’s played so far in this year’s tournament. “I knew I was going to have to be scheduled once to play at night. And it’s OK. It’s fine. I mean, I would be watching football, for sure. … (PSG) 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 are in for a long celebration and probably not much sleep tonight. It’s a fun night to be in Paris, I guess.”

Djokovic has never lost to anyone ranked as low as No. 153 Misolic at a Grand Slam tournament, and this one was never really in doubt. There was just a slight delay for him to take control: In the second game, with Misolic serving, Djokovic held seven break points — and failed to convert any.

That made it 1-all. But Djokovic kept accumulating break chances and, eventually, cashed in on his 10th, to lead 4-2. That was essentially that.

Against a man 15 years his junior, who was appearing in only his second Grand Slam tournament, the 38-year-old Djokovic made only 14 unforced errors — compared to 33 winners — and saved the only break point he faced.

“Solid when I needed to be,” Djokovic said. “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.”

He improved his career record at the French Open to 99-16, equaling his number of match wins at the Australian Open.

He’s won three of his 24 major championships in Paris. A year ago in a fourth-round victory, Djokovic tore his the meniscus in his right knee and needed to withdraw from the tournament before his next match.

This time, Djokovic will try to reach the quarterfinals by beating Cam Norrie on Monday. Djokovic is 5-0 against Norrie, including a win at the Geneva Open the week before the French Open en route to the Serb’s 100th career trophy.

“He’s a big fighter. He’s a grinder,” said Djokovic, who beat Norrie in the 2022 Wimbledon semifinals. “Cameron is known for that on the tour.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis