Top seed Djokovic strolls into third round with clinical win

Friday, 4 June 2021 01:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Novak Djokovic

Reuters: World number one Novak Djokovic put on a clinical display to stroll past Uruguyan Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday and reach the third round of the French Open.

Cuevas, ranked 92nd, showed flashes of resistance against the 34-year-old Serbian, but the top seed raised his game when he needed to and produced some sublime winners off his backhand to keep his chase for a 19th Grand Slam title alive.

Djokovic broke Cuevas’s serve a second time to go up 5-3 in the opening set but found himself 0-40 down on his own serve. The Serbian, however, grabbed the next five points to seal the lead on a sunlit Suzanne Lenglen court.

The 35-year-old Cuevas’s challenge fell away as Djokovic broke his opponent’s serve three more times to complete the win and set up a clash against Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, who beat Australian James Duckworth 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-0.