Novak Djokovic is still keeping track of ongoings at Roland Garros even after his exit from the tournament.
Djokovic lost to Joao Fonseca in the third round of Roland Garros, which was his earliest exit from the clay court major since 2009.
One player who is still in the men’s singles draw at Roland Garros is world number 85 Zachary Svajda.
Svajda had never played a main draw match at Roland Garros before this year, but he is now into the fourth round in Paris, and he has received a message from Djokovic following his latest victory.
Novak Djokovic sends message to Zachary Svajda on Instagram
Svajda had never been to the third round of any Grand Slam before, but after beating Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton he had already achieved his best ever result at a major in Paris.
The world number 85 faced his toughest test yet against 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo, but Svajda was able to cause the upset after beating the Argentinian 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 in over three hours.
Have we seen the last of Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros? 😢
Svajda has had a difficult couple of years, with his father Tom passing away in October last year after battling with cancer.
The American won his third round match at Roland Garros on what would have been his father’s 61st birthday, and Svajda acknowledged this in his post on Instagram.
He wrote, “Happy Birthday Dad (love heart emoji). I know you’re watching from above (praying hands emoji).”
Svajda received many messages of support on this post, perhaps most notably from 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who beat him at the US Open last year.
Djokovic commented, “Congratulations Zach! You deserve it. Your dad is watching and he is smiling (love heart emoji).”
Zachary Svajda has confirmed breakthrough ranking after Roland Garros
Svajda had already enjoyed an upward trajectory in the rankings this year, including making his top 100 debut, and that is only set to continue after his run at Roland Garros.
The 23-year-old is now set to make his top 60 debut, with Svajda now at world number 59 in the live ATP rankings.
Which player do you want to see win their first Grand Slam at Roland Garros?
Alexander Zverev is the favourite…
Svajda could continue rising if he wins his fourth round match, where he will play against 10th seed Flavio Cobolli.
This is a second-time meeting between the two players, with Cobolli beating Svajda in three sets when they played at the Delray Beach Open in 2024.
Svajda and Cobolli are in the top half of the men’s singles draw at Roland Garros, where Jannik Sinner suffered a shock defeat in the second round, and will both be sensing their opportunity to keep their runs going.
