French Open Day 4 recap: Novak Djokovic's chest sticker, Gael Monfils' withdrawal & more

Day 4 of the French Open saw Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz both book their place in the third round of the tournament. The Serb beat Marton Fucsovics 7-6(2), 6-0, 6-3 while Alcaraz stumbled a little against Taro Daniel before defeating him 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

WTA third seed Jessica Pegula also reached the third round in Roland Garros after her second-round opponent Camila Giorgi retired due to an injury after the first set. Elina Svitolina's run continued as she beat Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round.

There were also a few upsets on Day 5 as Caroline Garcia, Jelena Ostapenko, Sebastian Korda and Liudmila Samsonova were all eliminated by significantly lower-ranked players.

The day also had its fair share of drama, most notably Aryna Sabalenka refusing to answer a Ukrainian journalist's question regarding her support for Belarus' president Alexander Lukashenko.

On that note, let's take a look at some of the talking points from Day 4 of the French Open.

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#1. Novak Djokovic's chest sticker

Novak Djokovic was once again on the receiving end of drama. The Serb booked his place in the third round of the French Open by defeating Marton Fucsovics 7-6(2), 6-0, 6-3.

Djokovic had a changeover during the match and he appeared to have some sort of sticker on his chest, which he later changed as well. When asked about what it was, the Serb jokingly said that he tried to emulate Iron Man and that his team delivered him nanotechnology which helped him do his best.

"When I was a kid I liked Iron Man a lot, so I try to impersonate Iron Man. You know, my team delivers an incredibly efficient nanotechnology to help me deliver my best on the court, so that's the biggest secret of my career. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't be sitting here," Djokovic said.

The 36-year-old will next take on 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round of the French Open and the winner of the match will face either 13th seed Hubert Hurkacz or Juan Pablo Varillas in the Round of 16.

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#2. Aryna Sabalenka refusing to answer Ukrainian journalist's questions

Aryna Sabalenka in action at the French Open

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka booked her place in the third round of the French Open with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Iryna Shymanovich. The Belarusian once again found herself in the middle of a post-match controversy as a Ukrainian journalist asked her about her support towards her country's president Alexander Lukashenko.

Sabalenka responded by saying:

"I have no comments to you, so thank you for your question."

The journalist then asked the Australian Open champion if she could publicly condemn the war in Ukraine but she remained tight-lipped.

"I've got no comments to you," Sabalenka said.

#3. A day to forget for French players and Gael Monfils' withdrawal

Day 4 of the French Open was a disappointing one for the local players as none of them were able to win their respective singles matches. Six French players bowed out of the tournament on the day.

In the men's singles event, Luka Van Assche, Corentin Moutet, Lucas Pouille and Ugo Humbert lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Sonego respectively.

Caroline Garcia was France's highest-ranked singles player at the clay-court Major but her journey in the tournament ended in the second round. The World No. 5 lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to Anna Blinkova.

To make things worse, Gael Monfils withdrew from the French Open. The 36-year-old was scheduled to take on sixth seed Holger Rune in the second round but decided to pull out due to a wrist issue.

"I have a problem with my wrist I can't get over. I had exams & the doctor said it was not good to play & that I should stop," Monfils said.

Rune thus received a bye to the third round and will face either Genaro Alberto Olivieri or Andrea Vavassori.