Novak Djokovic struggled to a straight sets victory over Jaume Munar 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round of Roland Garros.
The Serbian once again had a nervy start to proceedings after a poor service game donated the break to his Spanish opponent in the first game. Despite a poor first game the former champion did get back on track as Munar struggled to maintain his high level of aggression as Djokovic eventually raced to a 5-2 lead. However the Spaniard aimed to bring all the confidence from his five set epic against David Ferrer in Round one and certainly didn’t give up the chase as he won three games in a row for 5-5.
As momentum shifted Munar’s way, a first set tiebreak loomed as the former world number one continued to struggle. The 21st kept his cool though as he cruised through the first set tiebreak as some brutal backhands ensured he only dropped one point as he wrapped up the first set 7-6(1).
The second set saw the Serb once again frustrated as the world number 155 played some exquisite shots to cancel out Djokovic’s earlier break. Based on this performance, it was hard to see why Munar is ranked as low as he is because his most aggressive shots can trouble any player on the top 100. On the other hand the Spaniard’s second serve needs major improvement and the world number 22 pounced on Munar’s weakest shot to break in the ninth game. The Serb comfortably served the set out for a commanding two sets to love lead.
The third set was competitively fought out between the duo as the Rafa Nadal Academy graduate showed no signs of slowing down. However Djokovic fought of Munar’s aggression to once again grab the crucial break and close out the match to struggle to a straight sets win.
It was another tough test that the Serbian passed and will be tested in the third round against another Spaniard in 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut after he beat Santiago Giraldo 6-4 7-5 6-3. There were also wins for two other Spaniards after Pablo Carreno Busta and Fernando Verdasco downed two Argentinians. The 10th seeded Carreno Busta overcame Federico Delbonis 7-6(0) 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4, while Verdasco defeated Guido Andreozzi 6-3 6-2 6-2.
