Novak Djokovic battled through an awkward first-round tie against Pierre-Hugues Herbert to kick off his French Open title defence with a straight-sets win.The world No. 1 made a dominant start but was forced to dig deep to take the second set in a tie-break, before claiming his first break of the third set at the opportune moment to win the match.
Djokovic will face Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round as he bids for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam triumph.
The 37-year-old’s poor form thus far in 2024 raised some pre-tournament questions about how he would perform in Paris, particularly after shock defeats in lead-up events in Rome and Geneva that led the Serbian to admit he had “low expectations but high hopes”.
While he won by the expected comfortable margin and produced some dazzling moments, Djokovic’s performance against the world No. 142 didn’t quite mark a return to vintage form as he had to bounce back from a mid-match dip in level.
Djokovic finished up with an impressive 84% of first serve points won, while he struck 29 winners and was guilty of 18 unforced errors.
The first set was a showcase of composure and control from Djokovic, who took an early break and never looked like loosening his grip from then on.
Herbert’s serve was broken at the second time of asking and although the Frenchman settled himself admirably by avoiding any further break points, he couldn’t make any headway against the Djokovic serve.
The Serbian was dominant in that regard as three of his five holds were achieved to love in a 37-minute opening set.
