At the French Open, Novak Djokovic defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round with a score of 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-1) to start his quest for a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles championship.
The 24-year-old American put up resistance as the former two-time winner breezed through the opening two sets, and his inexperience later became apparent in the tie-break on the largest clay court in the world.
However, Djokovic put an end to the encounter with a scorching service return on his first match point, setting up a showdown with Marton Fucsovics of Hungary.
For Kovacevic, who is of Serbian descent and was a Djokovic fan as a youngster, this was a tough job because the third seed had not lost a set in the first round at Roland Garros since 2010.
Kovacevic, who first saw Djokovic play at the US Open 18 years ago, got out to a strong start in his first Grand Slam main draw encounter, but Djokovic broke him in the sixth game to take the victory.
Djokovic hung on to secure the victory despite a third-set comeback by the American, who came from 3-5 down to demand a tie-break. During the match, Djokovic converted five of his 12 break opportunities and smashed 41 winners.
best seed In his 6-0 6-2 7-5 triumph over Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli, Carlos Alcaraz made a strong impression.
The 20-year-old is one of the favourites to succeed his compatriot and 14-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal, who is out this year due to a hip problem, and has already established himself as a strong contender on the greatest stages.
When Alcaraz served for the victory in the third set, Cobolli broke him, turning what had been a one-sided match into much more of a tussle, but the young Spaniard recovered to secure his place against Taro Daniel of Japan in the second round.
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