Novak Djokovic overcame a pulsating first-set challenge from Marton Fucsovics before accelerating to an ultimately comfortable 7-6(2), 6-0, 6-3 second-round victory on Wednesday at the French Open 2023.
Legendary tennis ace Novak Djokovic overcame Marton Fucsovics' tense first-set challenge before cruising to a facile 7-6(2), 6-0, 6-3 victory in the second round of the French Open 2023 on Wednesday.
On Court Philippe-Chatrier, an energetic Fucsovics stormed back into contention early on, erasing the third seed's 5-2 lead in the second set.
The 22-time major champion Djokovic engaged in a series of dramatic exchanges with the World No. 83 in Paris under the lights, but the Serbian upped his game to easily win the tie-break. From that point on, Djokovic had a relatively easy time of it, breaking Fucsovics' serve seven times over the course of the second and third sets to secure a two hours, 44 minute triumph.
The 36-year-old Djokovic hammered the ball with strength and depth off both wings throughout, which is encouraging as he seeks a record 23rd major victory and to retake the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Ranking.
Fucsovics' first-set comeback was mostly due to an outstanding run of returns, not any errors by Djokovic. In the first set, the Hungarian created nine break points, but only one of them was successful because Djokovic frequently stopped him with precise serve at crucial times.
Even though he temporarily showed signs of frustration after squandering his early lead, Djokovic maintained his composure and finished the match with more than half (52/99) of the points won on returns. He increased his ATP Head2Head series advantage over Fucsovics to 5-0 with his victory.
“I think [I was nervous] because it was 7-6 in one-and-a-half hours,” said Djokovic in his post-match press conference when asked about his struggles closing out the first set. “I mean, if I'm not nervous on the court, there are two reasons. [Either] I'm very loose and comfortable and confident, or I don't care much about playing or winning."
“Nervousness is part of my job, is part of what I do. Sometimes I express it, sometimes I internalise it. At times, you know, I chat with myself. At times I chat with my team. [The] important thing is that whatever happens, that you manage to kind of regroup and go ahead in the right direction," the Serbian added.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the 29th-seeded Spanish player who overcame #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5), will be Djokovic's opponent in the third round of Roland Garros for the 18th consecutive year.
The two will square off in a repeat of their ATP Masters 1000 second-round encounter in Monte-Carlo from the previous year, when Davidovich Fokina upset the World No. 1 Djokovic in three sets. Davidovich Fokina will draw inspiration from their most recent encounter as he gets ready to face the two-time Roland Garros champion, even though Djokovic currently holds a 2-1 advantage in their overall ATP Head2Head series.
