Nadal reaches 4th round at Slam for 50th time

PARIS,  Jun 5: Rafael Nadal advanced to the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the 50th time by beating Cameron Norrie in the French Open, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Nadal won easily despite losing serve twice in a row in the second set. He’ll next play 19-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner.

Nadal is trying to add to his record 13 French Open championships and seeks his 21st major title, which would break the men’s record he shares with Roger Federer.

Federer and Novak Djokovic are the only other men to have reached the fourth round at 50 major events.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek rallied from a slow start for her latest win at the French Open.

She was down a break in the opening set but regrouped and beat Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 6-0.

Swiatek has won 20 consecutive sets at Roland Garros and that streak was in jeopardy when she trailed 4-2. She dominated from there and lost only 12 points in the second set.

The eighth-seeded Swiatek next faces 18-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who has reached the round of 16 at a major event for the first time.

Novak Djokovic has reached the fourth round of the tournament for a record 12th consecutive year.

The No. 1-seeded Djokovic has not been pushed yet in any match — or any set, really — in Week 1 at Roland Garros. His latest victory was by a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 score against 93rd-ranked Ricardas Berankis.

Djokovic’s streak of appearances in the round of 16 in Paris is now one longer than the previous professional era mark for men of 11. That was shared by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who both got that far every year from 2005-15.

Djokovic is seeking a second French Open championship and 19th Grand Slam title overall. Nadal and Federer share that record with 20. (AP)