Novak Djokovic maintained his perfect record against Frenchmen at Roland Garros on Thursday, when he shut down the Corentin Moutet show to reach the third round in the French capital.
Competing on the atmospheric Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Moutet aimed to entertain with his deft drop shots and variety and made life uncomfortable for Djokovic at times. However, the Frenchman was unable to take his chances, with Djokovic crucially saving one set point on serve in the third set en route to a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(1) victory.
“Mentally I had to stay concentrated and prepared for a match like that,” Djokovic said when asked of Moutet’s trickery. “Corentin is a player who has great speed, it was a great battle, especially the third set. I saved a set point… At that moment, anything is possible. I found a shot to stay in the set, a good service. I think in general I played well, I managed to stay calm on court, which wasn’t easy at times.”
The Serbian now holds a 12-0 record against French players at the clay-court major and is one match closer to a record-extending 25th major. The three-time Roland Garros champion will meet Denis Shapovalov or Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic in the third round on Saturday.
Djokovic suffered opening-round defeats on clay in Monte-Carlo and Madrid in April but re-found form at the ATP 250 event in Geneva last week, when he defeated Hubert Hurkacz in the final to clinch his 100th tour-level title.
The No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings has looked comfortable through his opening two matches in Paris, having beaten Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets in the first round. Last year at this venue, he won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics and will be hoping to make more history in the next fortnight.
Against Moutet, Djokovic lost serve in the opening game and was a break down in the third set but was in control for large periods. The 38-year-old struck 43 winners to 33 unforced errors and was sharp around the net to rebuff the Moutet drop shot, winning 78 per cent of net points, according to Infosys Stats, to advance after three hours and five minutes.
Djokovic came under fire in the closing stages of the third set, but saved a set point on serve at 5-6 before he stay composed in the tie-break. The sixth seed holds a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Moutet, who was trying to reach the third round in Paris for the third time.
© Copyright 1994 - 2024 ATP Tour, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Community Social Media Policy | Modern Slavery Statement | Feedback | Cookies | Your Privacy Choices 
