Late in the evening in the City of Lights, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic christened the first ever men’s night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier with a victory over Tennys Sandgren on Tuesday to reach the second round at Roland Garros.
Djokovic improved to 4-0 in his ATP Head2Head against Sandgren after winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in their first clay-court meeting. Sandgren took a set off Djokovic in their 2018 US Open second-round clash, but the American was unable to repeat the feat in Paris as Djokovic saved all six break points he faced en route to victory.
The 2016 champion arrived in Paris in red-hot form after lifting his 83rd Tour-level trophy at the Belgrade Open on Saturday, backing up his run to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final (l. Nadal). Djokovic owns a 21-3 record on the season, which includes a record-extending ninth Australian Open title in February, his 18th Grand Slam crown.
Djokovic wasted no time in taking the lead against Sandgren on Chatrier, which was outfitted with floodlights for the first time in 2020. The top seed’s backhand was firing as he surged ahead to an early break at 1-0, and didn’t face a break point himself as he closed out the opening set with another at 5-2.
😵💫@TennysSandgren and @DjokerNole showing off the slide skills 👣#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/3ZGJ14mjTY
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2021
He was in for a battle in the second set as Sandgren, who previously reached the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2018 and 2020, tried to fight his way back after going down another early break at 1-0. Djokovic faced three break points as Sandgren rushed the net, catching his opponent out with a booming passing shot to take a 0/40 lead – but Djokovic held firm to stay in control.
Djokovic kept his cool against an increasingly frustrated Sandgren, reeling off five games in a row to open up a 5-1 lead in the third set. Sandgren saved match point to extend his stay in the contest, but couldn't hold back the World No. 1 and his backhand down-the-line as Djokovic sealed the victory after an hour and 58 minutes.
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Into the second round at Roland Garros for the 17th consecutive time, Djokovic will next face Pablo Cuevas. The Uruguayan player advanced after securing a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory against Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
Did You Know?
2016 champion Djokovic is seeking his second Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy this fortnight in Paris. A victory would make him the first man in the Open Era to win every Grand Slam championship twice.
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