Novak Djokovic Expects a Difficult Roland Garros Campaign After Opening Victory

Novak Djokovic was in celebratory mood after winning his opening match at the French Open on Sunday (May 24). The third seed, who turned 39 on Friday (May 22) came from a set down to beat home favorite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Roland Garros. However, he understands that despite the win, he will have a difficult campaign at the event.

Djokovic has been very selective with his schedule in recent seasons, but this year he took it to another level. The French Open is just his fourth tournament this year and second this clay season. He had been absent for more than six weeks before returning to the court at the Italian Open, but couldn’t pick up a win at the event.

The former World No.1 lost to Dino Prizmic at the Rome Masters as he lacked his usual match sharpness and noticeably struggled physically. At the French Open, he suffered the same problems in the opening set, which led Perricard to control the proceedings, breaking Djokovic in the eleventh game.

In the second set, Djokovic found his rhythm, finally breaking the Frenchman’s serve and playing with his usual clinical edge in key moments. In the third set, he gave one of his best performances since the Australian Open, dropping just one game and breaking Perricard thrice to set the match to a fourth set.

Eventually, Djokovic finished the match string, winning 5-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the second round of the French Open. He has now extended his unbeaten record in the first round at Roland Garros to 22 matches. Speaking after the match, Djokovic admitted that this year’s French Open will be a difficult one due to a lack of competitive matches in the past four weeks:

As the years go by, everything gets more difficult, of course. For me, it’s certainly not the best strategy to come here to play Roland Garros, where I expect these kinds of matches in every round. In fact, it wasn’t part of the plan, but it’s a situation I had to accept due to the circumstances; it is what it is. I’ve had to prepare thoroughly to get here to Paris, a place I’ve always tried to come to and do well.

Djokovic will hope to get more wins before facing tough opponents at the French Open. But he might not have that much time as he’s projected to take on Joao Fonseca in the third round and Italian Open runner-up Casper Ruud as early as the fourth round. However, he will face Valentin Royer in the second round on Wednesday (May 27).

Novak Djokovic opens up on how he felt after losing the first round to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

Novak Djokovic was visibly frustrated when Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard broke him in the 11th game of the first set at the French Open. The Serbian legend remonstrated with himself and the crowd and was demonstrative in his reaction when he wasted break points opportunities to tie the match. The French crowd was behind Perricard at the start of the match which he used to his advantage.

It was only in the third set that the crowd now found their way back to Djokovic, when he ruthlessly outplayed Perricard in just 23 minutes, dropping just one game. The 39-year-old was asked during his press conference how he felt after losing the first set against Perricard, while affirming that the Frenchman is one player no one will love to face early in the tournament:

After that, things went great. From that moment on, I was able to anticipate my opponent’s moves much better. In the first set, I didn’t stand a chance; Giovanni’s serve is one of the most incredible in terms of precision and speed I’ve ever encountered. Sometimes you just have to wait and hope for good luck. Nobody wants to face him in the tournament, to be honest.

Perricard is one of the big-serving players in the men’s circuit, but he has struggled this season. He was once dubbed the future of French tennis, but Arthur Fils has run away with the baton. He’s currently languishing outside the Top 80 in the ATP rankings and could drop further if he doesn’t get back to playing great again.

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