French Open: Novak Djokovic Moves Into Third Round With Victory Over Corentin Moutet
Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic marched into the third round of the ongoing French Open, defeating Corentin Moutet in his second round game in the French capital on Thursday. As per ATP's official website, Djokovic, who is chasing his 25th Grand Slam title, eliminated Moutet from the competition with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(1) win. Moutet entertained the crowd with some fighting tennis, some unbelievably deft drop shots which made Djokovic struggle at times. However, the class and big game experience of the Serbian maestro was too much.
During his match that lasted just over three hours, Djokovic displayed the top form that landed him his 100th ATP Tour-level title recently after he beat Hubert Hurkacz for the Geneva Open title. This string of wins comes after opening round losses in Monte Carlo and Madrid in April.
The world number six in the ATP Rankings has been in top form at Paris, having eased past Mackenzie McDonald in the opener.
Speaking after the game, Djokovic was quoted as saying by the ATP website, "Mentally I had to stay concentrated and prepared for a match like that. Corentin is a player who has great speed, it was a great battle, especially the third set. I saved a set point... At that moment, anything is possible. I found a shot to stay in the set, a good service. I think in general I played well, I managed to stay calm on court, which was not easy at times."
Earlier, world number one Jannik Sinner shut the curtain down on Richard Gasquet's career as he soared to a convincing win to qualify for the third round.
In his 22nd appearance at the clay-court major in Paris, the 38-year-old Gasquet's last dance concluded with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 defeat in a fixture that lasted for one hour and 58 minutes. On the other hand, the number one-ranked tennis star extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 16, making him the first man born in 1990 or later to accomplish the feat.
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