PARIS — Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round of the French Open for the 16th consecutive year with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over qualifier Filip Misolic on Saturday night in a match marked by noise from Paris Saint-Germain fans cheering for goals as they watched the Champions League final on their phones.
There also were frequent sounds of fireworks popping from PSG's stadium, which is just a few blocks from Court Philippe-Chatrier. The French club won its first championship in the top soccer competition for European clubs, beating Italy's Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich, Germany.
Djokovic originally was hoping to avoid playing at the same time as the soccer match so he could watch it on TV.
''It was interesting. The crowd was really following the game. And I could hear when they scored. It was way too many times that they were celebrating,'' Djokovic said about the spectators in the Chatrier stands. ''I was like, ‘Wow, this is a lot of goals from Paris! What's going on?' Now I heard it's 5-0. Quite a result, to be honest.''
During one lengthy tennis point in the third set, some shouts accompanied PSG's fourth goal, and afterward, the chair umpire asked the tennis ticket-holders spectators to keep it down, drawing boos and whistles in response.
''Night sessions are always different. They're always louder. The people are always more excited. Everything is always loud and different from a day session,'' said Djokovic, who has won all nine sets he's played so far in this year's tournament. ''I knew I was going to have to be scheduled once to play at night. And it's OK. It's fine. I mean, I would be watching football, for sure. ... (PSG) won it for the first time, so I don't know how we're all going to go back to our hotels. It's going to be quite a journey. Quite an adventure. But I think we are in for a long celebration and probably not much sleep tonight. It's a fun night to be in Paris, I guess.''
Djokovic has never lost to anyone ranked as low as No. 153 Misolic at a Grand Slam tournament, and this one was never really in doubt. There was just a slight delay for him to take control: In the second game, with Misolic serving, Djokovic held seven break points — and failed to convert any.
That made it 1-all. But Djokovic kept accumulating break chances and, eventually, cashed in on his 10th, to lead 4-2. That was essentially that.
