Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovicworld number four, qualified for the second round of the Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros, after defeating the French Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (83 ATP) with 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4, reports AFP.
Seeking his 25th Grand Slam title (record), at the age of 39, Djokovic achieved his first victory on clay this season in Paris, after his only match on this surface ended in defeat, in Rome, to Croatian Dino Prizmic (72 ATP).
Against the French Mpetshi Perricard, the former world leader suffered in the first set, especially on the opponent’s serve, who won the first set after three successful aces in the same game.
Djokovic played better and better and prevailed after almost three hours of play (2 h 51 min), and in the second round he will face another Frenchman, Valentin Royer (74 ATP), who passed the Bolivian Hugo Dellien (144 ATP) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
American Taylor Fritz, world number 9, was beaten by wild card countryman Nishesh Basavareddy (148 ATP), who won 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (9/11), 6-1 after three hours and 22 minutes.
Alexander Zverev, the world number three and second favorite in the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, made his debut with a minimum-set win over Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Zverev, a Paris 2024 finalist, will face Czech Tomas Machac in the second round.
The results recorded on Sunday in the first round of men’s singles at Roland Garros:
Alexander Blockx (Belgium) – Coleman Wong (Hong Kong) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Jakub Mensik (Czech Republic/N.26) – Titouan Droguet (France) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
Nuno Borges (Portugal) – Tomas Etcheverry (Argentina/N.23) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia) – Fabian Marozsan (Hungary) 7-6 (7/0), 6-3, 6-4
Hamad Medjedovic (Serbia) – Yannick Hanfmann (Germany) 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 6-4
Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) – Pierre-Hugues Herbert (France) 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
Joao Fonseca (Brazil/N.28) – Luka Pavlovic (France) 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-2
Dino Prizmic (Croatia) – Michael Zheng (USA) 6-1, 6-1, 6-3
Valentin Royer (France) – Hugo Dellien (Bolivia) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
Novak Djokovic (Serbia/N.3) – Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France) 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4
Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) – Taylor Fritz (USA/N.7) 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (9/11), 6-1
James Duckworth (Australia) – Gabriel Diallo (Canada) 6-3, 4-1 (Diallo withdrew)
Alejandro Davidovich (Spain/N.21) – Damir Dzumhur (Bosnia-Herzegovina) 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
Thiago Tirante (Argentina) – Pablo Llamas (Spain) 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (5/7), 6-0
Karen Hacianov (Russia/N.13) – Arthur Gea (France) 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-0
Marco Trungelliti (Argentina) – Kyrian Jacquet (France) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
Federico Cina (Italy) – Reilly Opelka (USA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4
Quentin Halys (France) – Mattia Bellucci (Italy) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3
Tomas Machac (Czech Republic) – Zizou Bergs (Belgium) 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Alexander Zverev (Germany/N.2) – Benjamin Bonzi (France) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
