PARIS — Defending champion Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Olga Danilovic reached the French Open third round.
Djokovic was very briefly made to work hard by unseeded Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena before sealing a routine 6-4 6-1 6-2 victory.
Djokovic has been some way from his convincing best in an erratic season where he is bidding to win a record 25th Grand Slam title and the top-seeded Serbian was dragged into a battle by Baena after recovering an early break.
Having nosed ahead on serve in the ninth game, the 37-year-old Djokovic set up break point with a big overhead smash after a 24-shot rally and pounced to take the first set as spectators on Philippe Chatrier sensed a return to a more familiar level.
“There’s always conviction and belief inside of me that I can win a Grand Slam,” Djokovic said according to Reuters. “That’s the reason I’m still competing at this level. That’s why I’m here.
“At this age I wouldn’t be competing at the Grand Slams and continuing to play professional tennis if I didn’t believe I possess quality to go all the way to the title match.
“I still of course sense that I have the game and I have the goods to go far.”
Djokovic moved up a few notches in the next set for a 4-0 lead before his 31-year-old opponent even got on the board and the three-times Roland Garros champion tightened his vice-like grip on the contest in double quick time.
The pair’s previous two encounters were both at hardcourt Grand Slams but the outcome was no different on Parisian clay as Djokovic sauntered ahead 5-1 in the third set and wrapped up the victory in style.
Despite the near-flawless display, Djokovic stressed that he would continue keeping expectations low as he prepares to battle Frenchman Gael Monfils or Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
“Of course, hopes and beliefs and convictions are always there, always high, and I always aim for the highest star,” Djokovic said.
“I’m being conscious of the present moment and what needs to be done daily to build my form as the tournament progresses and then peak at the right time when it matters the most.”
Alexander Zverev backed up his statement win against Rafael Nadal with a dominant display against David Goffin to reach the third round at Roland Garros.
The fourth-seeded German, who downed 14-time champ Nadal in straight sets in the first round, played front-foot tennis in his clash with Goffin.
He overpowered the Belgian, hitting 37 winners under the roof on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to advance after two hours and 22 minutes.
Zverev was pleased with how he reset after his emotional win against Nadal on Monday.
“Since the draw came out, the only thing the tennis world was talking about was that match [against Nadal],” Zverev said when asked about his emotions over the past week.
“He won the tournament 14 times, so he deserves all the credit and respect and all the acknowledgments he gets. So after I beat him I felt that I had already won the tournament, but in the end it is only a first round,” he added according to .atptour.com.
“You have to focus for another two weeks entirely and I am happy I had another two days off as I had to compose myself emotionally. I had to ground myself and get back to work and playing good tennis. I am extremely happy with my level.”
Zverev suffered a catastrophic ankle injury at the clay-court major in 2022, turning his ankle during his semi-final clash with Nadal at the end of the second set.
After returning to Tour last year, the 27-year-old looks back to his best, having won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome earlier this month.
After winning a tight first set, Zverev moved through the gears in the second and third sets to take full control against former World No. 7 Goffin.
The German committed just five unforced errors in the second set and did not face a break point in the third set, according to Infosys Stats, to improve to 4-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP series.
“When it is heavy, when it is slow, it is not ideal for me. I am someone who likes to be extremely aggressive, so when it is like that, it is not ideal,” Zverev said.
“I felt the ball well. Maybe a few mistakes but I knew David is an incredible player and someone who was difficult for me in the past. It showed in the first set, but I am happy I ran away with it.”
Qualifier Olga Danilovic posted her second career Top 10 win, and first in six years, after coming from a set and 5-3 down to upset No.11 seed Danielle Collins 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4 in the second round.
“I’m just very proud of myself and just happy the way I played, the way I fought against such a great player,” Danilovic said in her post-match press.
“Kind of my only thought, you know, that I have to be on top of my game to win. We had couple of weeks ago a very tough match, as well. I knew it’s going to be super tough. But I also knew that I can beat her, because I was there, very close.”
Indeed, one month ago, the pair had contested one of the highest-intensity matches of this year’s clay-court swing in the Madrid second round.
Collins survived that from a set and 2-0 down, converting her fifth match point to pull through 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8). It had been her first encounter with Danilovic, but the Serbian was firmly on Collins’s radar ahead of the rematch.
“She’s been playing some really great tennis and doing some great things out there and definitely pushed me and challenged me in the last match that we played,” Collins said after her first-round win.
“So I’m definitely going to have to sit down, do my homework, and prepare for it at a high level because she knows how to play some really high-level tennis. So I’m expecting to play a good match against her.”
That turned out to be the case. In fact, Danilovic and Collins played a near-identical match in terms of scoreboard trajectory and timing: the winner again came back from a set and a break down, and the Parisian reprise was just eight minutes shorter at 2 hours and 35 minutes.
The pair tallied the same number of winners, 34 apiece, though Danilovic committed seven fewer unforced errors, 31 to 38.
Just nine of Danilovic’s errors came in the decider, though. The 23-year-old World No.125 was twice two points from defeat trailing 5-3 and 5-4 in the second set, but was clutch on both occasions: the first time she fired a service winner, and the second time she won one of the best points of the match, tracking down a Collins drop shot before reflexing away a volley winner.
Collins, who received medical treatment on her neck three games into the third set, was broken to end the match on a netted backhand.
Danilovic had previously scored her first Top 10 win in her very first Hologic WTA Tour tournament, defeating Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-3 in the 2018 Moscow River Cup quarterfinals before going on to lift the trophy as a 17-year-old lucky loser. She has won at least one set every time she has played a Top 10 player.
“I know I can do a lot,” Danilovic said. “Last year I also played [the Roland Garros] third round, the year before I played second round. Just here I’ve beaten good players, but I also know that, as I said, [what] I am capable of, but let’s see. It’s step by step.”
The result moves Danilovic, who reached a career high of No.93 last June, into the Roland Garros third round for the second straight year. She will next face Donna Vekic, who upset No.18 seed Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 6-4.
