World number one men’s singles player Novak Djokovic registered an easy straight-set win over Mikael Ymer to begin his campaign in this year’s French Open on Tuesday.
Djokovic defeated Swedish player Ymer 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 in just 98 minutes. The most notable feature of the win was the use of drop shots by Djokovic. He played them to his full advantage as Ymer struggled to find an answer.
“I think it’s a great variety shot, the dropshot. I think it’s important tactically to have it and to use it at the right time so that you can keep your opponent always guessing what the next shot is,” he said as per the ATP Tour website.
“I may have played too many today, I agree. Maybe I exceeded what I should have played. But I think it worked well in the moments when I needed to get the point I did. And I thought that I kept my opponent today on the back foot constantly, because I felt comfortable to hit really any shot, being aggressive or coming to the net or mixing it up,” he added.
Djokovic, who is chasing his second French Open and 18th Grand Slam title overall, will next face Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania at the Roland Garros Complex.
Meanwhile, in women’s singles, former world number one Karolina Pliskova survived a tough opening round contest against Mayar Sherif.
The world number four Pliskova rallied from one set down to beat her Egyptian opponent 6-7(9), 6-2, 6-4 after two hours and 15 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier to advance to the next round.
“Let’s not talk about my level,” Pliskova said after the match as per the WTA website. “I think there is big room for improvement, but it is what it is and I’m in the next round, which counts,” she added.
She will next face 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko.