Novak Djokovic has moved into the third round of the French Open.
In the second round of the prestigious Grand Slam event in Paris, the sixth seed defeated home player Corentin Moutet in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1), after a tough match lasting three hours and five minutes on the Suzanne Lenglen court.
The match didn’t start well for Novak. He lost his serve in the very first game. But he quickly found his rhythm and broke right back. The key moment came in the sixth game, when he broke Moutet again and took control of the set. He held on to that lead and took the first set in 45 minutes.
Djokovic dominated the second set, especially in longer rallies. He had several chances to break early on and finally did in the third game. After that, he stayed in control. Though he missed a few break point chances in a long fifth game, he broke his rival again in the seventh game and closed the set 6-2 after 59 minutes.
The third set was more challenging. Novak had to take a medical timeout for blisters, and Moutet took advantage by breaking for a 4–2 lead. But Novak responded immediately with a break to level the score at 4–4. The set went to a tiebreak, and Novak stepped up like he so often does, winning it 7-1 to seal the match.
“Mentally I had to stay concentrated and prepared for a match like that,” Djokovic said. “Corentin is a player who has great speed, it was a great battle, especially the third set. I saved a set point. At that moment, anything is possible. I found a shot to stay in the set, a good service. I think in general I played well, I managed to stay calm on court, which wasn’t easy at times.”
Match statistics: aces (5-4), double faults (2-3), winners (44-29), unforced errors (33-33), total points won (120-93).
In the third round of the French Open, Novak will face Austria’s Filip Misolic on Saturday. The 23-year-old qualifier, currently ranked No. 153 in the world, pulled off a five-set upset over the No. 27 seed, Denis Shapovalov of Canada, in the second round.
Photo: Profimedia
