Novak Djokovic battled and entertained his way into the second round after a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win over Brazilian qualifier Rogerio Dutra Silva as Stan Wawrinka lost in five sets earlier in the day.
The Serbian struggled in the opening moments of the match as his Brazilian opponent took advantage of some tight backhands to grab the early break for 2-0. The 2016 champion was coming into Roland Garros with a very good semi-final performance in Rome despite some rocky results earlier in the season and showed some of that confidence for the rest of the set. The now world number 22 proved too solid after going down the early break and retaliated with two breaks of his own as he entertained his way to the first set in 38 minutes.
The second set proved to be more competitive as Dutra Silva once again got the early break with some fantastic retrieving skills as well as some powerful forehands. Once again though the Serbian was in command improving his winners count and broke twice in a row to seize control. The former world number one battled through some testing service games to take a two sets to love advantage.
The 19th seed started the third set much better dictating most of the rallies and unlike the first two sets, the Serbian grabbed the first break of the match as he looked on his way to wrapping up a straight sets win. Despite suffering a mini-blip towards the end against the world number 134, the Serbian ended with a flourish as he sealed a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win.
It wasn’t by any means the cleanest straight sets victory but the important thing for Djokovic is the win as well as the confidence that it brings as he searches for his 13th grand slam title. The Serbian will now play either David Ferrer or Jaume Munar in round two.
Wawrinka Stunned
However one big seed who didn’t ease to victory, was Stan Wawrinka as he was eliminated in five sets by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The Spaniard sealed a 6-2 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Wawrinka, who still appears to be struggling with long and exhausting matches. The loss means that the 2015 champion will now drop outside the world’s top 250 and will need wildcards for most tournaments after the US Open.
