French Open Roland Garros ATP Day Four Round-Up | Novak Djokovic survives late scare as Zverev, Ruud head through

Novak Djokovic passed the test given to him by Valentin Royer on Day Four of the French Open and will now play Brazilian dynamo Joao Fonseca in the third round in Paris.

Djokovic took down Royer at Roland Garros who prolonged the tie into another set while there were also wins for Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul and Jakub Mensik albeit saw him leave the court injured and unlikely to play next round in a sad sight.

Djokovic overcame the home favourite Royer 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3. The Serbian let a match point slip at 6-5 in the third set tie-break but he responded quickly to win a three hour, 28 minute victory. He now faces Fonseca.

“Clearly, the feelings on the court are different when you win a match, so it was a very important victory in conditions that weren’t easy for both players,” Djokovic said in French in his on-court interview. “It was very hot and I think that Valentin deserves a big round of applause for his performance today.

“It was a very difficult match, a very big challenge from the start. Credit to him for winning the third set, but I feel it was my fault because I was twice a break up and [attempted] to serve for the match.”

Djokovic entered Roland Garros with only one match on clay this year after missing a long time through injury since Indian Wells. He saw off Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in four sets in his opener on Sunday. On Wednesday he ground down Royer in hot conditions to improve for 9-3 for the season.

Djokovic was a break up at both 3-2 and 4-3 in the third set but Royer hit back immediately each time before going on to push the match into a fourth. Royer was unable to build further on this momentum and Djokovic broke decisively in the fourth game of the fourth set and served it out from there. He now faces Fonseca who in one of the best great escapes of the day came from two sets down to outlast Prizmic and book his spot. Prizmic is well suited to beat Djokovic so perhaps Fonseca is the easier of the two for the iconic Serbian.

Elsewhere Alexander Zverev was utterly ominous as he downed Tomas Machac who had to take an MTO for what looked like blisters but he had no match for the German either way.

Zverev won through 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in what looked to be a tough test on paper but given he is perhaps Sinner's biggest challenger he could yet be hitting form at the right time. As might Casper Ruud who swatted aside Hamad Medjedovic 6-3, 6-2, --- and also continues his run.

To start the day, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had both his coach walk out on him and go back to Miami without telling him, but he is going back to Spain after Thiago Tirante won through 6-3, 6-7, 1-6, 3-6. Karen Khachanov beat Marco Trungelliti 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6.

Wins also for Jesper de Jong 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 over Federico CIna while Andrey Rublev took four to see off Camilo Ugo Carabelli 1-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7. Jakub Mensik also won, but he went off the court in a heap so he is unlikely to play going forward. He won in five 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-7. Nuno Borges, Pablo Carreno Busta, Rafael Jodar also sealed victories.

Jodar continued his run seeing off James Duckworth 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 5-7. Quentin Halys downed fellow home hero Ugo Humbert 4-6, 6-7, 6-7 while Alex Michelsen won the all-American battle with Nishesh Basavareddy 6-7, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.