Easy does it

With the third round of Roland-Garros 2019 now complete, which players in the men’s and women’s draws have put together the smoothest passage to the last 16?

We take a look at the five women and three men yet to drop a set.

Petra Martic

With just 12 games lost, the No.31 seed has lost the fewest games of any player so far.

Ons Jabeur and Kristina Mladenovic denied the Croatian a mere three games each. Even the No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova, one of the hot pre-tournament favourites, deprived Martic of just half-a-dozen games in her shock defeat.

This will be the Croatian’s third time in the last 16 at Roland-Garros. As a qualifier in 2017 she served for the match 5-2 against Elina Svitolina in the fourth round, only to lose five straight games and the match.

This time the Croatian’s fourth round opponent is Kaia Kanepi, whom she has never played.

Ashleigh Barty

The No.9 seed has equalled her career best Grand Slam performance by making the fourth round here, and she has done it for the loss of a scant 16 games.

Jessica Pegula snatched six, as did Danielle Collins, while Andrea Petkovic assembled just four. The Australian will become a top-five player for the first time if she defeats Serena Williams’ conqueror Sofia Kenin in the fourth round. The American has not won a set in their two career jousts to date.

Novak Djokovic

The world No.1 has proceeded in straight sets for a reverse of just 24 games.

All three of his opponents – Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, lucky loser Henri Laaksonen and qualifier Salvatore Caruso – have stolen a meagre eight games from the 15-time Grand Slam champion.

Jan-Lennard Struff is the man tasked with preventing Djokovic reaching the last eight at Roland-Garros for the 10th successive year. The German, who is breaking new Grand Slam ground by reaching the last 16 here, lost their only previous encounter in straight sets, although he has a clutch of famous scalps on clay this year.

Roger Federer

In his first Roland-Garros campaign since 2015, rather wonderfully the 20-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set on his least favourite surface, losing 31 games in all. At 37, the 2009 champion is the oldest man to reach this stage since 1972.

Casper Ruud ran him closest, requiring the great Swiss to rescue a set point before closing out the match. Before that Lorenzo Sonego unburdened him of 10 games, while Oscar Otte grabbed just one more.

Leonardo Mayer will need to overturn a career record of three defeats by the great man if he is to prevent Federer reaching his 12th Roland-Garros quarter-final.

Marketa Vondrousova

Still a month shy of her 20th birthday, the Czech left-hander has given away a mere 19 games in her opening three rounds.

Winner of the junior doubles here in 2005, she dropped seven games to Yafan Wang in the opening round. Angelique Kerber’s conqueror Anastasia Potapova mustered just four, while the No.28 seed Carla Suarrez Navarro accrued eight.

Having reached the same stage at the US Open last year, the world No.38 now faces a first career meeting with No.12 seed Anastasija Sevastova.

Amanda Anisimova

The American 17-year-old, ranked No.51 at the start of this tournament, is guaranteed to pierce the top 40 by reaching the fourth round here. She has lost just 20 games to date.

Wildcard Harmony Tan took four, while the No.11 seed Aryna Sabalenka deprived her of just six, while Irina-Camelia Begu amassed 10.

She met (and was soundly beaten by) Petra Kvitova at the same stage in the Australian Open this year. In the fourth round here she has a first-ever meeting against…

Aliona Bolsova

The 21-year-old Spaniard has heroically played six matches already at Roland-Garros 2019. Disregarding the one set she dropped in the second round of qualifying against Timea Babos, the world No.137 has played 31 main-draw games to date (her first ever in a Slam main draw) without dropping a set.

First she vanquished the former world No.2 Vera Zvonareva, then the experienced Sorana Cirstea, and most recently Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Gael Monfils

This will be La Monf’s eighth time in the last 16 at Roland-Garros but the first time he has done it without dropping a set. Taro Daniel grasped four games, while Monfils’ compatriots Adrian Mannarino and Antoine Hoang took 11 and eight respectively.

Further progress will be tough indeed – the hometown Paris favourite faces last year’s runner-up Dominic Thiem, who has defeated him in all four of their completed meetings to date.