Djokovic wins French Open opening match

France Third seed Novak Djokovic defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(1) to set up a second round meeting with Marton Fucsovics at Roland Garros.

Djokovic won the first two sets quickly, but lost two service games in the third set and had to play a tie-break. But the former world number one's mettle appeared at the right time to help him eliminate a player who had only been a professional for two years like Kovacevic.

Djokovic during his victory over Kovacevic in the first round of Roland Garros in Paris, France on May 29, 2023. Photo: AFP — Djokovic during his victory over Kovacevic in the first round of Roland Garros in Paris, France on May 29, 2023. Photo: *AFP*

The first two sets played out like a practice session for Djokovic, as he won all his serve games and made good use of his returns. In the first set, the Serb needed the third return game to take a two-set lead after a forehand winner. In the second set, the former world number one won the first return game. In the first two sets, Djokovic won 84% of his points on serve, winning 36 of his 43 points. He also did not face the risk of losing a single service game.

Kovacevic only caused Djokovic a few problems at the start of the third set. After losing his serve, the American had three chances to win a service game, but the third seed saved all of them. However, when the score was 3-2 to Djokovic, Kovacevic had another chance to win a break game, and this time he successfully took advantage of the first situation thanks to his opponent's shot going wide.

Novak Djokovic 3-0 Aleksandar Kovacevic — Main events of the match Djokovic 3-0 Kovacevic.

Djokovic fought back in the next game, but when he served for the match, he lost again and the score was level at 5-5 in the third set. But that was all Kovacevic could do, because when the set went into a tie-break, Djokovic showed his mettle by only losing one point. It took the Serbian 2 hours and 29 minutes to get through the first round with three straight sets.

Kovacevic, 25, is currently ranked 114th in the world and is making his first Grand Slam main draw. He turned professional in 2021 after earning a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Illinois.

In the second round, Djokovic meets Fucsovics on Wednesday, May 31. If he wins this tournament, he will become the first player in history to win all four Grand Slam men's singles titles at least three times.

Hoang An

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