TENNIS ROLAND GARROS – World Number 2 Novak Djokovic eased into the third round with a very efficient match against Jeremy Chardy. The Serb won 6-1 6-4 6-2 and he will play Marin Cilic in the 3rd round. Cordell Hackshaw
Interviews, Results, OOP, Draws from the Roland Garros
Novak Djokovic (2) knows all too well the pressure of playing majors and getting through the early rounds. “[Y]ou can never underestimate any opponent in a Grand Slam, because Grand Slams are, you know, the biggest events we have in this sport, and it’s where all the players want to perform their best and it’s where they get this extra strength and inspiration to play their best” the world’s number two states. Therefore, he was not taking his opponent, Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, lightly. Chardy who recently beat Roger Federer in Rome is a very solid player with a big serve and forehand. However, Djokovic was very efficient as he neutralized Chardy’s big weapon to win 6-1 6-4 6-2.
Chardy won the opening game of the match. Ironically, this would be the only point of the match when he led as Djokovic went on a 7-game stretch. The Serbian was up 6-1 1-0 in the 2nd set before Chardy got on the scoreboard again. Chardy broke Djokovic to get back on serve but was unable to hold serve again and soon found himself down 1-3 in the set. Chardy was able to be competitive in the set but he could not find a way to break Djokovic who took the set 6-4. The world’s number 2 broke Chardy again in the beginning of the 3rd set but Chardy broke back. Djokovic then put his head down and raced out to 5-1 lead forcing Chardy to serve to stay in the match. Chardy held to delay the inevitable when with an ace, Djokovic closed out the match 6-1 6-4 6-2.
Djokovic had this to say about the match, “I knew he’s gonna come out trying to take his chances with the forehand, and he has a big serve. But, you know, I managed to make him play an extra shot. I managed to stay solid from the baseline, and I think that forced him to make a lot of unforced errors, which definitely helped me to win in straight sets.” This was certainly true as the match statistics show. Djokovic was winning 76% of his 1st serve points and 63% on his 2nd serves. He had 31 winners and 16 errors as well as 11/11 up at net. Chardy on the other hand could only win 58% of the points on his 1st serve and 32% on his second serve. The Frenchman had 19 winners to 35 errors. This level of mediocrity was certainly not going to have any real impact on Djokovic’s game.
Djokovic will play Marin Cilic (25) in the 3rd round. Speaking of his chances in that matchup, Djokovic stated, “I managed to play some good tennis and already feeling like I’m improving the game as the tournament progresses. … I’m going to have to be playing even better against Marin next round. Since he started working with Ivanisevic he’s playing very, very, very good. …He’s a big guy, and he can play really aggressive. If he feels the ball well, he can be dangerous.” It should be an exciting match whatever the result and fans definitely will be looking forward to it.
