Novak Djokovic, the No. 20 seed, didn’t have things all his own way on Wednesday at Roland Garros, when the 2016 champion fought his way past Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar.
The Serbian star, who continues to work his way back to peak form, often drew upon the support of the crowd to defeat Munar 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 18 minutes for a place in the third round. He maintains his record of never having lost to a qualifier (17-0) at a Grand Slam championship.
Djokovic, who improves to a 61-12 record at the clay-court Grand Slam championship, will next face another Spaniard in No. 13 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who knocked out Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and seven minutes.
Djokovic was not always comfortable in the first set, but when it mattered he played decisively and was precise with his returns. After being broken in the first game, Djokovic clinched four straight games and at 5-3, a lapse in concentration handed Munar a route back. In the tie-break, it was all Djokovic as he won the first six points.
Munar, who beat fellow Spaniard and 2013 finalist David Ferrer in the first round, continued to impress in the second set, immediately breaking back after losing his serve at 1-1. His groundstroke power kept Djokovic behind the baseline, but in spite of a number of flashy winners from Munar, the former World No. 1 did enough on serve and his forehand, particularly. He sealed the set with a backhand winner.
Pressure from Djokovic began to tell and the Serbian broke for a 4-3 lead, and finished the 198th clay-court match win of his career (198-51) with a backhand winner — his 39th of the match.
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