Novak Djokovic laid down the challenge to his French Open rivals by only dropping five games in a first-round win against Sweden’s Mikael Ymer.
The Serb top seed, who is bidding for an 18th Grand Slam and a second French Open, eased to a 6-0 6-2 6-3 victory.
After cruising to a 20-minute opening set, Djokovic ruthlessly maintained his level to win in an hour and 38 minutes, reports the .
“This is what my intentions will be, trying to get off the blocks very strong with a good intensity,” he said.
“Obviously these conditions are different than what we are used to here in the 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.”
Ricardas Berankis will be Djokovic’s next opponent in Paris after the Lithuanian world number 66 beat Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 6-1 6-4 6-4 to tee up the opportunity to become the first player to beat the Serb on the court this year.
The world number one’s only defeat in 2020 came when he was defaulted from his US Open last-16 match against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta after hitting a line judge with a ball.
Djokovic is one of the clear favourites – alongside Spain’s 12-time champion Rafael Nadal and Austria’s two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem – to win the men’s singles at the delayed clay-court Grand Slam.
This was Djokovic’s first appearance at a Grand Slam since his undignified exit at Flushing Meadows three weeks ago.
