Djokovic saunters into French Open round two

Thursday, 3 June 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action during his first round match against Tennys Sandgren of the US - Reuters

PARIS (Reuters): World number one Novak Djokovic kicked off his French Open campaign with a routine 6-2 6-4 6-2 win against American Tennys Sandgren on Tuesday in the first men’s matches to be scheduled in a night session.

With no spectators allowed on Philippe Chatrier court due to a 9 p.m. local curfew, the Serbian went through the gears as he dispatched his opponent seemingly effortlessly.

Djokovic, who is chasing a 19th major title and looking to narrow the gap to 20-time Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, showed some signs of frustration in the second set but world number 66 Sandgren was never close to bothering him.

The third set was a mere formality as Djokovic, who won his only Roland Garros title in 2016, won five games in a row in what resembled a training session.

He next faces Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas on his way to a potential semi-final showdown with 13-time French Open champion Nadal.