By Chris Oddo | Friday, May 30, 2014

 

Novak Djokovic was nearly taken to five sets by Marin Cilic but he held off the strapping Croat for a ninth straight time to reach the round of 16 in Paris.

Photo Source: Peter Staples

How amazingly good does one need to be to defeat a world-class player like Marin Cilic nine times without ever losing? Well, you’ll have to ask Novak Djokovic because only he knows.

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Djokovic continued his mastery of the strapping Cilic on Court Philippe Chatrier on Friday, emerging from a spirited tussle with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4 victory that sets up a fourth-round encounter with the flamboyant Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“I came into the match knowing that he's gonna take his chances,” Djokovic said after taking Cilic down for the 9th time in nine career attempts. “In important moments I held my nerves and, you know, I'm very happy that I went through.”

Djokovic was made to work extremely hard by Cilic over the course of their three hour and eleven minute affair, but the world No. 2 was able to slide through when Cilic double-faulted on match point in the fourth set, after rallying from a break down to nearly push the Serb to a decider.

Djokovic, who was dominant in the first two sets, tried desperately to end things in straight sets. He rallied from a break down to level in the third, and seemed to be headed for immediate victory when Cilic missed a makeable forehand on set point at 5-6.

But in the third-set tiebreaker, Cilic took his game up a notch then got a break of his own as a lucky let cord winner gave him four set points. He would capitalize on the first and continue to push Djokovic in the fourth until the last, bitter double-fault.

“I didn't use this opportunity that were presented, and, you know, gave him a chance to come back to the match,” said Djokovic. “He played great, the end of the third, especially in the tiebreak. I complicated my own life there in the fourth. But generally it was a difficult match from different aspects.”

Djokovic improves his career Roland Garros record to 39-9, and his 2014 record on clay to 11-1 with the victory.

In the round of 16 he’ll face a player that has tested him in the past at this venue. In 2012, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earned four match points against Djokovic in their insta-classic quarterfinal. Djokovic saved them all, and went on to defeat Tsonga in five sets.

On Saturday the two talents will meet for the 17th time. Djokovic holds an 11-5 edge and has won the last seven battles.

Tsonga moved through in straight sets against Jerzy Janowicz on Friday. A semifinalist last year, the Frenchman is considered by most to be France’s best hope of breaking their 31-year title drought at their home slam.