Novak Djokovic ties Roger Federer record at French Open

PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic equaled Roger Federer’s mark of reaching nine consecutive quarterfinals at Roland Garros by beating No. 30 seed Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

It’s also Djokovic’s 12th career trip to the round of eight in Paris, a record for the 50-year professional era. Djokovic advanced to his 40th Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Rafael Nadal can pull even with a 12th French Open quarterfinal, too, by winning on Monday.

The straightforward victory for 2016 French Open champion Djokovic was his 200th career tour-level win on clay. He’ll play unseeded Italian Marco Cecchinato in the quarterfinals. Cecchinato, who came into the French Open without a Grand Slam main-draw victory, upset…