Djokovic prepares for French Open last eight test against Cecchinato

Former French Open champion Novak Djokovic moved into the last eight at a Grand Slam tournament for the 40th time on Sunday and declared himself ready to take on surprise quarter-finalist Marco Cecchinato.

Novak Djokovic reached his 40th Grand Slam quarter-final on Sunday at the French Open. Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes

“I have known of him for many years,” said Djokovic of the 25-year-old Italian. "We trained a lot on hard court, clay courts. And we actually trained this year before Monte-Carlo tournament. I know now his game and I practiced with him, I watched him play. For sure, he's playing the tennis of his life."

The 31-year-old Serb, who is only one of eight men to have won titles at all four Grand Slam venues in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York, added: "Congratulations to him for a great tournament. He deserves respect and he's got nothing to lose in our next match. So I'll approach it very seriously."

While Cecchinato dispatched an ailing eighth seed David Goffin in four sets, Djokovic mastered 34-year-old Fernando Verdasco for the 11th time in 15 encounters.

It finished 6-3 6-4 6-2 after two hours and 28 minutes. It was ultimately a rapid denouement. The first three games of the match lasted 29 minutes.

"Fernando came out on the court with a lot of self-belief and he started off pretty well and made me work very hard," said Djokovic. “I think being able to win the first set and get ahead was crucial. He's such a talented player. He's got weapons everywhere. I mean, serve, forehand, everything. He loves playing on clay."

Djokovic added: I think in the most important moments, I just managed to play an extra shot in the court and just made him run and just made him uncomfortable.”