Djokovic serves up gritty first-round win

PARIS — Ignore the straight-set score: Novak Djokovic was not quite at his impervious best in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday night, and his 6-4, 7-6 (3),6-4 win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert was not enough to alter the defending champion's "low expectations" at this tournament.

"I don't want to get too excited," Djokovic said. "I thought it was a good performance for me. Solid. Of course, I could have done better, I think, on return games, but also credit to him for serving very well, for changing things up."

It's been a rougher-than-usual season so far for Djokovic, and, while there were some signs of breaking out of his 2024 funk during the course of the contest at Court Philippe Chatrier, he still has room for improvement as he attempts to become the first player in tennis history to claim 25 Grand Slam singles trophies. There's no doubt he cares about such things.

"Grand Slams are the ones that are basically getting me out of bed every day. Knowing that I have to hit the practice courts, I always think about what I can do in Grand Slams," he said. "So here I am. Hopefully I can have another deep run."

That's what Herbert expected.

"I knew from the beginning," Herbert said, "that I was going to face the 'Novak of the Grand Slams'.It's just the intensity of concentration."

Djokovic, a three-time title winner at Roland Garros, needs to return to the final to retain his No 1 ranking. But, he arrived in Paris without having done that at any tournament this year. He is 0-3 in semifinals — including a loss last week at the lower-tier Geneva Open on red clay — and this victory across two-and-a-half hours only served to make his overall record 15-6.

So, when he spoke at a news conference on Sunday, Djokovic described his mindset heading into the French Open this way: "Low expectations and high hopes." Then he pointed out, "Anything but a title, for me, is not satisfactory," which is understandable given his remarkable resume.

"In the moments when it mattered, I think I delivered. I played a great tiebreak and stayed focused," Djokovic said about Tuesday's performance. "I'm glad that I started the way I started. The way I felt on the court, compared to the tournaments of previous weeks that I've played, I felt good. Better. So I'm moving in a positive direction. Yeah, it's just the beginning."

He seemed a bit edgy at moments against Herbert, a 33-year-old Frenchman who is currently ranked 142nd and owns a career Grand Slam in doubles, but has never gone past the third round at any major in singles.

The home crowd tried to push Herbert, repeatedly calling out his name, even imploring him in English at one point by chanting, "Let's go, Pierre-Hugues! Let's go!" They jeered Djokovic late in the third set when he went to the sideline to towel off after he slipped, stumbled and tumbled onto the clay chasing a ball.

A day after sitting in the Chatrier stands to watch rival Rafael Nadal's first-round loss against Alexander Zverev, Djokovic was competing in the chill of a 15 C evening, and he did not always look happy. He rolled his head back after one miss, while making four groundstroke mistakes to get broken early in the second set. He repeatedly gestured to the ball boys and girls to give him tennis balls so he could prepare to serve.

Although Herbert's game did not demand a maximum expenditure of energy from Djokovic, there certainly was enough to keep things interesting, and, by the end, the winner totals were 37 for Herbert, 29 for Djokovic.

There were some strokes of brilliance from Djokovic, to be sure, and he covered the court well when sprinting after the drop shots Herbert kept trying. The highlight for Djokovic was probably the closed-stance sliding backhand winner that earned him a match point — which was converted when Herbert double-faulted to end it.

Still, the statistic that truly mattered was the one that shows Djokovic is now 69-0 in opening matches at Slam events since starting his career with a 3-2 mark in first-rounders.

Djokovic's second-round opponent will be 63rd-ranked Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain.

Other winners on Tuesday included the man Djokovic beat in last year's French Open final, Casper Ruud, and past major champions Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

Ruud, who also was the runner-up to Nadal in Paris in 2022 and leads the ATP with 36 wins in 2024, beat Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3, 6-4,6-3.

Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka overpowered Erika Andreeva 6-1, 6-2, and 2022 Wimbledon winner Rybakina beat Greet Minnen 6-2, 6-3.

Sabalenka is trying to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the Australian and French Opens in the same season and get halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam.

"I'm just trying to separate myself from all those facts," said Sabalenka, who is No 2 in the rankings behind Iga Swiatek.

Agencies via Xinhua