French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic enters second round with win over Alexander Kovacevic

Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles title with a 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-1) first-round win over debutant Aleksandar Kovacevic at the French Open on Monday.

The two-time Roland Garros champion won the first two sets before facing resistance from the 24-year-old American, whose lack of experience showed in the tiebreak on the world’s biggest clay court.

Djokovic Finished the contest with a stunning service return on his first match point and will face Hungarian journeyman Marton Fukovic for a place in the third round.

“It’s always a pleasure to come back here, one of the best tournaments in the world,” said Djokovic, who made his Roland Garros debut in 2005.

“I’m very motivated to go far here, I hope.”

Djokovic hasn’t had an ideal build-up to a claycourt Grand Slam, missing the Madrid Masters and exiting in the last eight in Rome, but he has looked in good form in windy conditions.

On court Susan Lenglen, Benoît Paire kept their composure but could not avoid another defeat on the main tour when they were beaten in five sets by British 14th seed Cameron Norrie.

There was a break up in the deciding round after the pair were given a wildcard but could not close out the match.

“I’m happy with the effort I’ve been putting in for a while. So it was a great match today,” said world number 149 Paire.

In the women’s draw, two former runners-up impressed.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova celebrated her return to Roland Garros with a dominant win over Czech Linda Fruhvirtova after a career scare a year ago due to a knee problem.

The 31-year-old enjoyed her best run at a Grand Slam in the 2021 tournament when she reached the final, and missed last year’s edition as well as the second half of the season due to injury.

Sloane Stephens, the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2018, defeated former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-4.

Although everything went smoothly on the court for the American, she said the racist abuse from the players had taken a turn for the worse.

“Yeah, it’s obviously been a problem my whole career,” said Stephens, who is Black. “It’s never stopped. If anything, it’s only gotten worse.”