Novak Djokovic launched his quest for a record-breaking twenty third males’s Grand Slam singles title with a no-nonsense 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-1) victory over debutant Aleksandar Kovacevic.
Djokovic, twice the champion at Roland Garros, has made a stuttering begin to the clay-court season and was crushed by Denmark’s Holger Rune within the quarterfinals in Rome this month.
But he breezed by means of the primary two units of the French Open on Monday earlier than encountering resistance from 24-year-old Kovacevic.
The American’s lack of expertise was uncovered within the tiebreaker on the world’s largest clay court docket and Djokovic ended the competition with a scorching service return on his first match level.
Djokovic, champion in 2016 and 2021, will subsequent face Hungarian journeyman Marton Fucsovics for a spot within the third spherical.
Italian veteran Fabio Fognini rolled again the years on the second day to take down tenth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime within the first spherical.
Thirty-six-year-old Fognini’s 6-4 6-4 6-3 win means the Canadian grew to become the primary top-10 participant within the males’s draw to be knocked out of the event.
British No.14 seed Cameron Norrie made it by means of nevertheless it was an in depth shave in opposition to France’s Benoit Paire.
The mercurial Paire, whose final win in the principle draw of top-tier event dates again to August, made probably the most of his wildcard invitation, solely to be punished for 81 unforced errors on court docket Suzanne Lenglen.
The extravagantly bearded Paire, 34, additionally hit 70 winners, to the delight of the French crowd, however went down 5-7 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 to Norrie.
“It was an amazing match, he played really well and I’m glad to see him compete like that again,” stated Norrie.
“We put on a good show in a great atmosphere. For the sport it was amazing.”
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Source: www.perthnow.com.au
