By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Swampy red clay and cool conditions didn’t deter Novak Djokovic’s flight path
The top-seeded Serbian transformed Court Philippe Chatrier into a launching pad soaring past Mikael Ymer 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 into his 16th straight Roland Garros second round.
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In front of some scattered fans, including two-time French Open finalist Dominic Thiem, who stopped the Serbian in a blustery semifinal last year, a dominant Djokovic dismantled the 22-year-old Swede.
Unloading on his forehand with menacing intent, the Rome champion raised his record to 32-1 on the season scoring his sixth straight clay-court victory following his default from the US Open for accidentally hitting a lineswoman in the throat with the ball.
A change of scenery, cooler conditions and a speedy opponent wearing adidas shoes with the Serbian’s face on the tongue did not stop Djokovic directing his Grand Slam flight.
"I am definitely very confident," Djokovic said. "I won every match that I played this year except obviously the one in New York where I was disqualified. Other than that, I won every match.
"Obviously these conditions are different than what we are used to here in French Open. Everyone has been talking about it. The balls, the heavy clay, the cold weather. It all affects the play, of course.
"But I think it's quite suitable to my style of the game...I'm ready physically, mentally, emotionally to go deep in the tournament. Hopefully I can have another successful year here in Paris."
The world No. 1 is bidding to become the first man in the Open Era—and only the third man in history—to win each of the four Grand Slams twice. Aussie legends Roy Emerson and Rod Laver are the only men to have won each Grand Slam on two or more occasions.
Much has been made of the autumnal chill in Paris, the drizzly, dreary conditions and the new and heavier Wilson balls, but Djokovic competed today as if committed to conquering all elements. The 2016 champion converted nine of 11 break-point chances and nearly tripled the young Swede’s winner output striking 32 winners.
When Djokovic wasn't busy bruising Ymer with deep drives he bewildered him with finesse pulling off several successful drop shots that left the Swede chasing red brick dust. Djokovic played the drop shot successfully in his run to the Rome title and believes it will be a key for success in cold, slow Paris conditions.
"It's going to be a very important shot in these conditions, because it's just so heavy and so slow," Djokovic said. "The tendency of the players obviously on clay is to go a bit further back to give themselves a little bit more time and space, because the ball bounces higher on clay than any other surface. But obviously now the bounce of the ball is significantly lower because of these conditions.
"But anyway, nevertheless, I think it's a great variety shot, the drop shot. I think it's important tactically to have it and to use it at the right time so that you can keep your opponent always guessing what is the next shot."
It took the top seed just 20 minutes to roll through a shutout opening set winning 24 points compared to just seven compared for the Swedish counter-puncher.
Even between points, Djokovic was impressive showing off his racquet skills with moment like this:
Blown out in the opening set, Ymer finally got on the scoreboard to start the second when the Serbian netted a drop shot.
The pair traded breaks in the third and fourth games as Djokovic netted a drop shot to give back the break for 2-all.
In the sixth game, Ymer showed some sensational athleticism racing back for an eye-popping tweener winner that left Djokovic applauding. backpedaling again, Ymer somersaulted across the clay near the baseline and quickly sprang to his feet in pursuit of another shot. The Swede made exceptional effort, but didn’t get the result as Djokovic held for 4-2.
Commanding the center of the court, Djokovic worked the angles driving the ball into the corners to force Ymer to defend. When stretching the Swede, Djokovic sometimes used shrewd drop shots to cap points.
Djokovic raced through the final four games of the second set and reeled off the last three games of the match closing a convincing opener in 97 minutes.
Continuing his quest for an 18th Grand Slam title to close the gap on 19-time major winner Rafael Nadal and 20-time Grand Slam king Roger Federer, Djokovic enjoys a favorable draw heading the top half with both Nadal and Thiem in the bottom half.
The world No. 1 will take on Ricardas Berankis in round two.
Fellow Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin called eight-time Melbourne winner Djokovic "unbeatable" after her first-round win today.
"I feel like the way Novak is playing, it's going to be really hard to win [against him]," Kenin said. "He's obviously playing some great tennis. It's showing and he's doing a really great job.
"I think the way he's playing, he's unbeatable. So, yeah, I really, really respect him a lot. He's someone that I really look up to."