Broken but not beaten

Paris : Former champion Novak Djokovic claimed a hardfought 6-4 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 victory over a grieving Roberto Bautista Agut to book his spot in the French Open fourth round.
The 31-year-old former world No. 1 struggled at times on Suzanne Lenglen court, but eventually came through the four-set battle in three hours and 48 minutes with 13th seed Bautista Agut. He has now made the Last-16 of a Slam for the 43rd time, tying Jimmy Connors on the all-time list. Bautista Agut was playing in Paris despite the death of his mother last week.  Djokovic, seeded 20 after struggling to find his best form since returning from an elbow injury, will take on Fernando Verdasco for a Last-8 place after the Spaniard knocked out fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov. The Serbian has also reached the second week at Roland Garros for the last nine years in a row. Djokovic, who at world No. 22 is at his lowest ranking since 2006, became frustrated at times during the opening set, but he grabbed the first break of the match in game 10 to take a one-set advantage. The 31-year-old looked to have found his rhythm when he eased 4-1 clear in the second, but Bautista Agut battled back and saved three set points before taking a tie-break.