By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday May 10, 2024
Novak Djokovic is closing in on another milestone after his straight-sets victory over Corentin Moutet in Rome.
Photo Source: Getty
Matches featuring Frenchman Corentin Moutet are always an adventure. The 25-year-old Parisian is rebellious, enigmatic, moody and gifted with a delightful game that can capture the imagination.
Today against 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic on Court Central in Rome the World No.83 kept things interesting, taking a 3-1 lead in the opening set, but he was sleepy when it mattered most as six-time champion Djokovic took charge and rolled through 11 of the final 12 games to book his spot in the third round, 6-3, 6-1.
In a frustrating match for Moutet, there was also some levity. The World No.83 interrupted play when his phone alarm went off just before he was about to serve at deuce in the opening game of the second set. He and Djokovic had a laugh as he switched his phone to silent – unfortunately for Moutet it would be the last noise he made in the contest as Djokovic kicked into high gear and cruised to the finish line.
Djokovic, who will face Alejandro Tabilo in the third round, said he needed time to find his game in his first match since early April at Monte-Carlo.
“It took me a little time to adjust to the different rotations of the ball,” he said. “The first four games were quite bad from me. A bad start. I lost both my service games.
"But then I played well. I only lost one game from 1-3 down. Corentin is a very talented player. He has great hands and is very unpredictable. You don't know what comes up next, so I had to stay focused, which I did and it is a good opening match."
Things were even more complicated for the World No.1 after the contest. While signing autographs for fans in the tunnel a fans’ metal water bottle fell from his bag and clunked Djokovic on the top of the head. Djokovic was in pain as he fell to the ground, not knowing what had hit him, but reports are that he is fine now.
Kecmanovic Stuns Ruud
No.5-seed Casper Ruud may be one of the four or five best clay-court players in the world at the moment, but he won’t have the chance to prove it this week in Rome. He was taken out 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.
Kecmanovic experienced some back pain in the opening set, but he took some pills and felt better in sets two and three as he broke Ruud four times across the final two sets and earned his first Top 10 win since last October.
Ruud had defeated Kecmanovic in the second round at Madrid, 6-4, 6-1. The Norwegian has now lost two consecutive matches on the clay, after falling to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round of 16 at Madrid.