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French Open 2023: Djokovic hopes to continue positive start after brushing past Kovacevic in opener

Two-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic kickstarted his 2023 Roland Garros campaign with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 win against United States' Aleksandar Kovacevic on Monday in Paris.

French Open 2023: Djokovic hopes to continue positive start after brushing past Kovacevic in Roland Garros opener snt
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First Published May 29, 2023, 8:05 PM IST

Two-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic kickstarted his 2023 Roland Garros campaign with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(1) win over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round at the Philippe Chatrier court on Monday, as the Serbian sets the ball rolling to conquer a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title.

After Djokovic won the first break of the match in the sixth game, Kovacevic, who was making his Grand Slam main draw debut, was unable to contain his legendary opponent. 

Despite an American comeback in the third set to square the match at 3-5 and force a tie-break, Djokovic held on to win the opening round match. He converted five of his 12 break points and smashed 41 winners to Kovacevic's 25.

Throughout the two hours and 26 minutes of play, Kovacevic, who grew up idolising Djokovic and once posed for a photo with the Serbian at the 2005 US Open when he was seven years old, had glimpses of his best play. However, the 114th ranked player was unable to match Djokovic's consistency from the baseline and was helpless against the third seed's lethal returning.

With his second major victory of the year in Paris (he previously won at the Australian Open in January), Djokovic, a two-time Roland Garros champion, will be able to pass Rafael Nadal in the race for Grand Slam victories. He will face Marton Fucsovics, the world's 83rd-ranked player, in the second round of the tournament in Paris.

Following his first round victory at French Open 2023, Djokovic noted that he hopes to continue to make progress in the tournament in an in-court interview after the clash against Kovacevic. 

"I am very motivated. I want to go to the end of the tournament. Congratulations to Aleksandar. Today's conditions were a bit hot. There was a lot of wind and a lot of intensity. It was hard to find the rhythm at times, but I am happy and I have to keep a positive mind going forward," said the legendary Serb.

A third victory in Paris would guarantee Djokovic's return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after Carlos Alcaraz usurped him three weeks ago. The 36-year-old is currently second only to Rafael Nadal with 85 matches won at Roland Garros.

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