French Open, day 9 key fixtures: Novak Djokovic, defending champs Rafa Nadal, Iga Swiatek in action

After a chaotic opening week in Paris, the action rolls at French Open minus Serena Williams and Roger Federer and a whole host of other seeds. On Monday, the defending champions return to court.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have their trysts with the future of tennis as the French Open moves on from the exits of Federer and Williams.

World number one Djokovic, chasing a 19th Grand Slam title, faces 19-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti who is in his first Grand Slam tournament.

Nadal, the 13-time champion in Paris and edging towards a record 21st major, also tackles an Italian 19-year-old in the shape of Jannik Sinner who he beat in the quarter-finals in 2020.

With Federer having withdrawn to rest his knees before Wimbledon, yet another Italian, Matteo Berrettini has a free pass to the quarter-finals.

Djokovic, the 2016 champion in Paris, is bidding to be the first man in more than half a century to win all four majors on multiple occasions.

He will next face a player who has become just the sixth man since 2000 to make the fourth round of a major on his debut.

“I really like how he plays. He’s got a lot of firepower from both forehand and backhand,” Djokovic said ahead of a…

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