Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam title with a rocky win over Valentin Royer in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old third seed got off to a convincing start before encountering resistance from across the court during his 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 win over Royer, who was seeking to beat a top 10 player for the first time in his career. Djokovic has now reached the last 32 at Roland Garros in 21 out of 22 appearances, with the only exception being his debut in 2005. He has won a record 404 Grand Slam matches, with 103 of those being achieved in Paris.
“The feeling is different when you win a match. It’s a really, really important win for me,” Djokovic said during his French-speaking interview on court.
“Difficult conditions for both players. Really, really hot on the court. Valentin deserves a big round of applause for what he put out on the court.” He added.
Taking on Royer, Djokovic eased through the first two sets without facing a break point and winning 30 out of 36 points behind his first serve. He continued dictating proceedings early on in the third frame by breaking Royner before the match took a turn.
Struggling with his serve all of a sudden, Djokovic grew frustrated with his performance and complained to his team multiple times, which included new coach Viktor Troicki. Furthermore, the three-time champion was clearly bemused by the noise made by some in the crowd.
After losing a break advantage twice en route to the third-set tiebreaker, the trend of Djokovic putting himself in a solid position before losing it continued. In the tiebreak, he lost three points when leading 3-0 and another two when up 5-3. Meanwhile, a spirited Royner seized the opportunity to snatch the set.
Dropping the set for a second match in a row, the former world No.1 managed to regain his groove in the fourth frame by surging to a 4-1. Averting the upset, Djokovic sealed victory after three hours and 47 minutes in the blistering heat. Royer is the 30th French player in a row that he has beaten at the Tour level.
“The experience made a big difference. In the end, it’s just the ability to concentrate on each point in the moment,” Djokovic said about how he managed to seal the win.
“It’s easier said than to do. The crowd were involved fully. It wasn’t easy for me, but in the end, during the time break, I was just a bit too conservative, a bit too passive.
“The atmosphere was amazing.”
There have been doubts about Djokovic’s form coming into Paris. He had yet to win a match on the clay prior to Roland Garros this year. An arm injury forced him to miss Monte Carlo and Madrid. He then returned to action in Rome, where he suffered a surprise defeat in his first match against Dino Prižmić, who he could play in the next round if the Croat beat Joao Fonseca. Much to the delight of Djokovic, who is looking forward to not playing a home player again.
“I hope that I don’t play against any other French player until the end of the tournament. Played two matches against them, and I feel like I’ve played for two weeks.” He joked.
