Djokovic, Alcaraz stay on track for French Open semi-final showdown

PARIS :Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz inched closer to a blockbuster semi-final showdown with imperious victories at the French Open on Sunday as Elina Svitolina continued her sparkling run after returning from a maternity break to reach the quarter-finals.

Djokovic, who is chasing a men's record 23rd Grand Slam to leapfrog Spaniard Rafa Nadal in the injured champion's absence, blazed past Peruvian marathon man Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3 6-2 6-2 in a lopsided last-eight clash.

A two-time champion in Paris, Djokovic has now reached the quarters in Paris for a record 17th time, one more than Nadal.

"I'm proud of all the records but it also means I'm not young any more," said the 36-year-old Djokovic.

"It was the best level of tennis I have played here so I'm very satisfied."

World number one and top seed Alcaraz, another tenacious Spaniard who is backed to take the mantle of 14-times champion Nadal, bulldozed his way to a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

A fired-up Elina Svitolina advanced to the quarter-finals for the fourth time with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina to stay on track for a maiden Grand Slam in her first major since the birth of her daughter Skai in October.

RUSSIANS ROLL ON

Earlier, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova dug deep to return to the quarter-finals for the first time since her runner-up finish two years ago before fellow Russian Karen Khachanov also fought his way through on a bright Sunday.

Pavlyuchenkova, who was defeated in the 2021 final by Czech Barbora Krejcikova, skipped last year's edition as well as the second half of the season to nurse a knee problem and came into the match after three-setters in her last two encounters.

She was tested again by 28th seed Elise