Novak Djokovic moved into the second round of the 2012 French Open with a 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-1 win over Potito Starace on Monday afternoon. In an entertaining encounter, the Serbian world number one was given the perfect workout in the first set and a half by the valiant Italian before running away with the match to clinch victory in two hours and five minutes.
While the outcome was never in doubt, the world number 97 gave an excellent account of himself before folding under the pressure applied by Djokovic in the second set. The Italian will be pleased to have taken the current US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion to a tie-break at the end of a first set in which he consistently defied the odds.
Starace had evidently decided nothing was to be gained by playing conservatively. He went for his shots, most notably when saving three break points on the way to that tie-break which Djokovic won 7-3, the latter making sure he got the job done by finding his first service and pushing his opponent back with his own returns.
The Italian resisted one more service game, which went to eight deuces before he held, and then crumbled as Novak found his range and movement. Where the gulf in class had been hidden by Starace’s daring tactics, now it became glaring as the Serb hit and the underdog missed. The first set lasted 59 minutes, the next two just 66 in total, and Djokovic concluded the match with a second service ace in an audacious illustration of his superiority.
The top seed will be pleased with this introduction to the tournament. He was given a runaround in that first set, forced to dig deep and then able to find his best tennis. Far greater challenges lie ahead on the road to a Novak Slam, but with the genial Serb answering questions in French at the end of the match, he will be able to count on some home support in his quest to make history and become the first man to hold all four majors on different surfaces.
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