By Chris Oddo | Sunday, June 1, 2014

 

Novak Djokovic's well-executed takedown of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday in Paris bodes will for the Serb's Roland Garros title hopes.

Photo credit: Peter Staples
 

Novak Djokovic squeezed the life out of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga early on Sunday, and sucked some life out of the partisan crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier in the process, during his 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 command performance in Paris. The thrashing was Djokovic’s 10th consecutive victory over Tsonga, and it just might have been his most impressive.

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Djokovic's triumph marks his 20th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance, a remarkable streak of reliable play at the majors that dates back the 2009 French Open.

Looking poised to make his strongest push yet to dethrone eight-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, Djokovic moved exquisitely on Sunday, striking from both wings with precision and pace, and sliding on the terre battue to perfection.

It was such an astonishing display by the world No. 2, that media and fans could only assume that it was a horrible, lacklustre effort by Tsonga, but what could the Frenchman do in the face of Djokovic’s focused assault?

“He played better and better,” Tsonga would later say. “For me, it was tough. I didn't have time to hit my shots, so it was tough.”

After stepping out to a big lead, a steely Djokovic wanted to be sure that he kept his foot on the gas in order to avoid a long, drawn-out battle like the one he encountered in 2012, when he was forced to save four match points in the fourth set before defeating Tsonga in five sets in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

“Two years ago was kind of a similar situation where I started very well, won the set 6-1 and I was 4-2 and then he managed to come back,” Djokovic said, “and then we had the tough match and that ended up in five sets.”

Djokovic, who won 77 percent of his second-serve points and only faced two break points during the 89-minute cakewalk, did more than enough to ensure that there would be no Tsonga uprising on Sunday.

“I didn't want the similar scenario,” he said. “Obviously I wanted to win that second set, because I knew that Jo is a kind of a player that feeds off the energy of the crowd, and he loves playing in Roland Garros. He started very slow. He made a lot of unforced errors. I was very solid from back of the court, and then I knew what I needed to do.”

Djokovic’s purposeful game left Tsonga discombobulated, slump-shouldered, and looking ready to catch the next plane out of Paris.

“He prevented me from playing today,” Tsonga told reporters. “So I have no explanations to give you.”

To his credit, Tsonga rallied to get within a break at 5-4 in the second set. It was the closest he would come all day.

Djokovic would hold serve to close out the set and continue to run roughshod over Tsonga in the third to close it out in style.

There’s no guarantee that one’s form will carry over from one match to the next in a Grand Slam, but Djokovic is certainly looking like he might be in as good a form as he has been all year, and perhaps even all career.

He’s certainly doing himself a service by avoiding the long troublesome battles that have sapped his energy at this event in the past (the five-setter with Andreas Seppi and the Tsonga epic come to mind), and Djokovic is pleased as punch about it.

“It was a mental relief in the end,” he said. “The match went great in every single way for me.”

Djokovic will face Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals. The Canadian moved past Marcel Granollers in straight sets on Sunday, to reach his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal.

"I know that I'm going to have to face--somebody that is going to serve over 200 kilometers per hour in average throughout the whole match," Djokovic said. "But I'm ready for that. I have played great today, and I know what's expecting me next one."