By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Novak Djokovic powered past Joao Sousa, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3, cruising into the Roland Garros third round for the 12th straight year.
Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/FFT
A swarm of ball kids surrounded Novak Djokovic to help deliver his traditional heart-sharing celebration to fans.
The reigning Roland Garros champion needed no helping hand to continue his career mastery of Joao Sousa.
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Controlling the center of the court and driving the ball to the edges, Djokovic cruised past Sousa, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3, into the French Open third round for the 12th straight year.
Hitting harder and deeper for much of the match, Djokovic converted six of 14 break points and more than doubled Sousa’s winner total, pounding out 34 winners. It was Djokovic’s fourth victory over Sousa in as many meetings.
The match began a bit like the 12-time Grand Slam champion’s 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, sweep of Sousa in the 2014 French Open first round.
The only real complications came from an awkward stumble behind the baseline, which left the second-seeded Serbian clutching his lower back briefly, and a tricky patch in the third set when Djokovic denied three break points before holding.
Contesting his 50th consecutive Grand Slam event, Djokovic played with conviction and clarity powering to a 5-0 lead in 18 minutes before banging out three errors from his opponent wrapping up the opening set in 28 minutes.
Playing his second match with new coach Andre Agassi, Djokovic has looked to be more assertive on the first rally ball after his serve and dispensed stretches of punishing cross-court combinations.
Aiming to become the first man in the Open Era to win each Grand Slam title twice, Djokovic broke for a 3-2 second-set lead and backed up the break with a firm hold at 15. Djokovic saved a break point to serve his way to a two-set lead.
The Rome runner-up closed in two hours, six minutes. Djokovic, who has not dropped a set through two rounds, will face Argentine clay-court specialist Diego Schwartzman for a spot in the fourth round.
In their lone prior meeting, Djokovic permitted just seven games in a straight sets win at the 2014 US Open.