‘Nole’ could meet Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals, who won Friday’s match against Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp in straight sets and will face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.

Novak Djokovic, world number one, continues to impose himself almost without dishevelment at Roland Garros, this Friday he beat the Slovenian Aljaz Bedene (195) 6-3, 6-3 and 6-2 in an hour and 44 minutes and will be measured in the round of 16 with the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman.

Djokovic made no missteps in a Philippe Chatrier who booed him at one point as he celebrated, already in the third set and with the match almost over, having saved a break point against Bedene.

Five years later, the Serb would meet the uneasy Schwartzman at Roland Garros, whom he beat in a third round in 2017 in five sets.

At the foot of the track and in a good mood, the Serb admitted that “perfection does not exist”, although he stressed that he always tries to “get closer to it”. “Playing aggressively, as is my trait, is not always possible, but I was really good today,” he said.

Djokovic, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, one less than Nadal, once again spoke in French, a language he does not master as well as English, and left a few moments of hilarity.

When he did not understand a question about a word he did not know (“requiring”, demanding in French), he thanked the interviewer for the precision, given in English.

“Thank you for teaching me a new French word”, burst out laughing the tennis player, who assured that one of the most important things for him is to sleep well “between 8 and 9 am”.

In case Argentina’s top racket goes down, ‘Nole’ could meet Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals, who won this Friday’s clash against Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp in straight sets and will face Canadian Felix Auger in the second round – Aliassime, coached by Toni Nadal.