Paris: Novak Djokovic braved strong winds and light rain but found little resistance from American Mackenzie McDonald, cruising into the French Open second round on Tuesday to start his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam crown.
The sixth-seed Serbian, fresh from his title win in Geneva last week -- the 100th of his career -- pummelled McDonald into submission with a dominant 6-3 6-3 6-3 win on the same court he claimed singles gold at the Paris Olympics last year.
“It is great to return here a year later. I don’t know how many future Grand slams I have left in my hands but this is special,” Djokovic said in a post-match interview, reported Reuters. “I feel good and here even better because I can relive the Olympic Games here.”
Coco Gauff forgot to bring her racquets to the court but reminded her rivals of her French Open title ambitions with a commanding win while Daniil Medvedev lost his composure on a cold and blustery Tuesday as he crashed out in the opening round. Last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev had no such trouble as he cruised into the second round in his latest bid to win an elusive Grand Slam title after losing three Major finals including at this year’s Australian Open.
Gauff provided early comic relief as the second seed grinned sheepishly and showed her empty bag to her entourage, who scampered to reunite her with her equipment before she thumped Olivia Gadecki 6-2 6-2. Victoria Azarenka became the oldest woman in the professional era since 1968 to win a singles Grand Slam main-draw match with a 6-0 6-0 scoreline.
“Honestly, I thought they put the racquets in the bag, and my side court bag is filled with drinks and everything,” Gauff said. “So it felt like I had enough weight. Then I got on court, and I opened the first zipper. I was like, ‘OK, no racquets’. The second zipper ... ‘Oh my God. I went on court with no racquets’.
On the men’s side, third seed Zverev sealed 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory over Learner Tien while 11th seed Medvedev was beaten 7-5 6-3 4-6 1-6 7-5 by
Cameron Norrie.