Djokovic Eases into Roland Garros Second Round, Kenin, Pliskova Advance, Tsitsipas, Rublev Survive Five-Set Tests
(September 29, 2020) No. 1 Novak Djokovic eased past Sweden’s Mikael Ymer 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday on day three of the French Open. The Serbian is seeking his second Roland Garros title and 18th major title in Paris.
Djokovic’s skillful use of the dropshot proved to be an effective tool during the the first round match.
“I think it’s a great variety shot, the dropshot. I think it’s important tactically to have it and to use it at the right time so that you can keep your opponent always guessing what the next shot is,” said Djokovic after the match.
“I may have played too many today, I agree. Maybe I exceeded what I should have played. But I think it worked well in the moments when I needed to get the point I did. And I thought that I kept my opponent today on the back foot constantly, because I felt comfortable to hit really any shot, being aggressive or coming to the net or mixing it up.”
Djokovic who was defaulted at the US Open for accidentally hitting a lines person, was asked about if New is still on his mind.
He said: “I have not had any traces of New York in my mind. I’m over it. Honestly forgot about it. I’m not thinking about it.
“I thought I started off extremely well, winning 6-Love first set is the best possible way to start a Grand Slam. This is exactly what my intentions will be, trying to get off the blocks very strong with a good intensity. Obviously because players in the early rounds have nothing to lose, come out. And you could see there is quite a few surprises in the first round. You know, you have (Daniil) Medvedev out, some big players. It tells a lot about these conditions, you know, and that it’s very challenging for a top player especially coming in as a favorite and then needing to win and expected to win. I think that’s why the opening rounds are crucial.”
The two finalists in last week’s ATP Hamburg tournament both had to make comebacks from two sets down to get to the second round in Paris.
No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas came back against Jaume Munar 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 after three hours and 12 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
“Playing a best-of-five [match] can be very challenging and I am really happy that I will walk away from Suzanne-Lenglen today with a win,” said Tsitsipas in an on-court interview.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played a match like this before,” said Tsitsipas. “The emotions and the nerves at the very beginning were not there, but [made] slight adjustments and tried to find a way to win, a different way.”
Andrey Rublev overcame Sam Querrey 6-7(5), 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in three hours and 17 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The Russian, seeded 13th, was down two sets and 2-5 down before he began the long road to victory.
“I was feeling completely tight,” Rublev said in regard to the beginning of the match.. I choke another level. Since the first point of the match till
the last match of the match I was completely freeze. I couldn’t do one step, I could only hit, I was tight like I don’t know. Not many times I was tight like this. Anyway, I’m happy that I have this one more present that I’m here, and I’m alive and I have another opportunity to change this, one more chance to show different attitude, different game. So hopefully I will be able to do it.”
Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin held off the 125th-ranked Liudmila Samsonova a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the second round.
“I’m really happy with this win,” said the fourth seed. “It’s always tough to play first match at a major. Yeah, conditions weren’t the best. It was really tough with the courts, and it was raining and we went inside and then it started raining again. Yeah, conditions weren’t easy at all, but I’m just happy with the way I competed and found a way to win. I didn’t feel like I was playing my best tennis, but of course she was playing really well, but I’m just happy to have gone through the first round.”
The second seed Karolina Pliskova fought past Mayar Sherif 6-7 (9), 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round. Sherif became the first Egyptian player to qualify for the main draw of the French Open.
The Czech will face another test in the next round when she takes on 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Other women’s seeds advancing were [8] Aryna Sabalenka, [13] Petra Martic, [14] Elena Rybakina, [29] Sloane Stephens and [30] Ons Jabeur.
Danish teenager Clara Tauson, 17-year-old qualifier from Denmark won her first tour-level match beating No. 21 seed and US Open semifinalist Jennifer Brady 6-4, 3-6, 9-7. The teen rallied from 2-4 down in the deciding set, saving two match points. She won the Australian Open Junior title in 2019.
“We played an amazing match today, probably the highest-quality tennis I’ve ever played in my life,” Tauson said to rolandgarros.com
Other women’s seeds ousted on Tuesday were [19] Alision Riske and [26] Donna Vekic. The only seeded man to lose was No. 31 Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Seeds advancing on the men’s side of the draw were: {7] Matteo Berrettini, [9] Denis Shapovalov, [18] Grigor Dimitrov, [20] Christian Garin, and [22] Dusan Lajovic.
