Novak Djokovic treated the Roland Garros crowd with some great tennis shots on Tuesday. His charm offensive continued after the match.
Interviewed on court by former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, the top-ranked Serb pleased the fans on Court Philippe Chatrier with a few words in French.
Djokovic is craving a career Grand Slam at the French Open after losing in the final three times over the past four years. A fans’ favorite in Paris, he has dramatically improved his level of French in recent years.
“These two weeks might be the most important in the whole season (for me),” Djokovic said after defeating 95th-ranked Yen-hsun lu of Taiwan 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
Djokovic was in complete control, broke his opponent seven times, and closed the match with a drop shot. He joined his main rivals Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in the second round.
Meanwhile, Venus Williams avoided a second consecutive first-round Grand Slam loss - and a second consecutive first-round French Open loss.
Her sister Serena Williams also advanced beating Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-0.
The ninth-seeded American needed nearly 2 hours to get past 82nd-ranked Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) on Court 1 at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
less than a month shy of her 36th birthday, Williams is the oldest woman in the tournament. She is a seven-time Grand Slam champion, but she dropped her opening match at the Australian Open in January, and also exited in the first round at the French Open in 2013 and 2015.