Former champion Novak Djokovic takes on Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the men's singles pre-quarter-final round of French Open 2018 at Paris on Sunday, June 3.
When is the match and how to watch it live in India
The fourth round match between Djokovic and Verdasco will not start before 3:30 pm local time, 7 pm IST and 2:30 pm BST.
Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD will provide live television coverage of the match in India. A live stream will be available on Hotstar.
Djokovic vs Verdasco - Preview
Djokovic, ranked as low as 20, is eying to match Roger Federer's Open Era record of nine successive quarter-final appearances in Roland Garros as he takes on in-form Verdasco later today.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion had been struggled to hit peak form ever since returning from an elbow injury earlier this year. However, the run to the semi-final in Rome last month seems to have given him a lot of confidence.
Djokovic is now the favourite to reach the semi-final from his half of the draw as he is set to face the winner of the fourth round tie between eighth seed David Goffin and unseeded Italian Marco Cecchinato. This is provided he gets past Verdasco, who has beaten top-10 players thrice already in the ongoing season.
The Serb will be hoping to grow in confidence as he progresses to the second week of the tournament but his immediate concern would be to maintain the intensity on Sunday.
Djokovic heads into the fourth-round match on the back a 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2 win over another Spaniard in Roberto Bautista Agut. The 2016 champion was racing ahead when he was up a set and four games but his higher-ranked opponent clawed back to go level at one set each.
Djokovic was tested in the third set as well but he managed to hold on and win the second tie-breaker of the match before making light work of Agut in the fourth and final set.
The comeback man starts Sunday's tie as the favourite, given his 10-4 (win-loss) record against Verdasco.
However, Verdasco is heading into the tie on the back of an impressive performance against fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov on Friday. The world number 35, who is bidding to reach his maiden French Open quarter-final, stunned the Bulgarian in straight sets.
Verdasco will be relying heavily on his forehand, which is as potent as anyone else's on the tour, but he faces an uphill task against Djokovic, who was at his defensive best against Agut on Friday.
French Open 2018 - Global TV listings and live stream
Singapore: Fox Sports
Malaysia: Fox Sports
US: ESPN2, NBC; Live stream: Tennis Channel
Australia: Fox Sports 3; Live stream: Foxtel Go
Canada: TSN
France: France TV Sport 234
Pan-European: Eurosport International
Japan: WOWOW, TV Tokyo
China: CCTV 5
Middle East: beIN Sports
Africa: SuperSport
