“He looked a little bit off balance,” Mats Wilander points out areas of improvement for Novak Djokovic despite his first-round win at 2024 Roland Garros

The Serbian ace also admitted that there were problems with his return.

“He looked a little bit off balance,” Mats Wilander points out areas of improvement for Novak Djokovic despite his first-round win at 2024 Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic, Mats Wilander (Images via Imago, Wikipedia)

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic opened his campaign at the 2024 Roland Garros with a straight-sets win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The 24-time Grand Slam champion who is also the defending champion at the tournament, beat his opponent 6-4 7-6(2) 6-4 and entered the second round. While it was a neat win for Djokovic, Mats Wilander feels there are areas of improvement.

Wilander was happy about Djokovic avoiding a scare and easing past his opponent in Paris. The former Swedish player said that this was what he expected from the World No. 1. However, Wilander noted that Djokovic looked off balance while returning the serves and urged that it be improved.

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The Eurosport tennis expert admitted that the Serbina was up against an opponent who serves big and that might be the reason behind his struggles in return. However, Mats Wilander expects Djokovic to make the necessary adjustments and not get into awkward positions while returning the serve.

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The only expectation I had for Novak was to win. He’s not going to lose this match, but it’s not easy to play someone who serves and volleys. He looked a little bit off balance, but I got what I expected, which was a three-set straight victory for Novak...His return of serve is definitely not where it used to be, where it needs to be and it’s difficult to do on a clay court with such a big serve and so much spin from Pierre-Hugues.
Mats Wilander said while analyzing Novak Djokovic’s performance.

Novak Djokovic admits his struggles with the return

Novak Djokovic himself admitted that he was struggling with the return during his match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The Serbian said that Herbert mixed up things really well and it made it difficult for him to maintain his shape. However, Djokovic was pleased with his service game and overall performance in the match.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic looking worried (via Imago)
Herbert was serving extremely well. He was giving me a lot of difficulties; I couldn’t find the right position on the return. When I would step back, he would serve and volley, and he was doing very well to mix up the rhythm. I knew that coming into the match, but he was playing really good tennis. From my side, in my service games I did everything I needed to do so I’m pleased with my performance.
Novak Djokovic said to Eurosport after his match.

Djokovic will next face Robert Carballes Baena in the second round. The Serbian is hoping for a turnaround at the 2024 Roland Garros after whatever he has gone through in the first phase of the season. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is yet to win a title, has no official coach working for him, and the rhythm is also not of the same level as before.

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