Novak Djokovic kicks off his French Open 2023 marketing campaign with a dominant win over USA’s Aleksandar Kovacevic within the first spherical on Monday, May 29. The Serbian ace beat Kovacevic in straight units 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 at Court Philippe Chatrier and surpassed Rafael Nadal within the big record at French Open.
This was Djokovic record nineteenth win within the first spherical at Roland-Garros as he surpassed Rafael Nadal’s earlier record of 18 wins within the first spherical at a clay-court main. Djokovic has but to lose a first-round sport in French Open and breaks a tie with Rafael Nadal who additionally stays unbeaten within the first spherical.
The world no.3 star is touted favourite to win the second Grand Slam of the 12 months and clinch a record twenty third main as Rafael Nadal misses out on the match for the primary time since 2004 as a result of an damage.
The two-time French Open champions praised Jovacevic who impressed within the third set as Djokovic struggled for profitable serves. But the Serbian managed to keep away from the fourth set by successful the third set 7-6. Djokovic praised Jovacevic’s preventing spirit within the final set after the sport and likewise identified his personal struggles within the final set.
“He performed very well, and he was dealing with himself excellent there mentally, hanging in there. I served for the match, he broke me. I imply, credit score to him for preventing spirit,” Djokovic stated after the sport.
“You know, of course I want to dominate whoever I play against regardless of the circumstances and who is across the net, but, you know, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I think I played really well and held things under control for two-and-a-half sets, and then lost my serve and things got a little bit on the wrong side for me. But, you know, I managed to hold my nerves and played pretty much a perfect tie-break.”
In one other sport, the world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz superior into the second spherical with a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win over Flavio Cobolli from Italy. The Spanish teenager and Djokovic are extremely more likely to face one another within the semifinal spherical after Daniil Medvedev earned the second seed with a win in Italian Open 2023.
Meanwhile, Day 2 at Frech Open witnessed two big upsets within the males’s singles spherical. Top-ten-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime and star Austrian Dominic Thiem didn’t progress to the second spherical with disappointing defeats within the first spherical. Title favorites Casper Rudd, Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev will open their Roland-Garros 2023 campaigns on May 30.
