Djokovic advances to third round at Roland Garros; Alexander and Kei fight hard to go through
Former champion Novak Djokovic reached the French Open third round for the 13th consecutive year by beating Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday,
Djokovic, the 2016 Roland Garros champion and former world number one, is seeded 20 this year after struggling to rediscover his best form after returning from a right elbow injury.
He wasn't at his best on Court Suzanne lenglen, but goes on to face Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the last 16.
The Serbian 12-time Grand Slam champion fired 39 winners but 33 unforced errors and was broken three times by Munar, the world 155.
"I am very happy to be here on Suzanne lenglen and see so many people and see the support," said Djokovic.
"Jaume is a great player, he has lots of quality and good concentration. I congratulate him on a great match today."
Zverev, nishikori in round 3
Second-seeded Alexander Zverev trailed by a set and a break — and was down a broken racket, too — before eventually collecting himself and coming back to beat 60th-ranked Dusan lajovic of Serbia 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the French Open's second round.
Zverev equaled his best showing at Roland Garros; he also reached the third round two years ago.
If the 21-year-old German is going to get to the round of 16 he'll need to do something he never has at a Grand Slam tournament: defeat a player ranked in the top 50. Zverev's next match comes against 26th-seeded Damir Dzumhur.
lajovic lost his eighth consecutive match that stretched to five sets.
Kei Nishikori has rallied past local favorite Benoit Paire to reach the third round of the French Open for the fourth consecutive year.
The 19th-seeded Japanese player needed nearly three hours on Court Philippe Chatrier to win 6-3, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 against the Frenchman.
"He was attacking every shot," Nishikori said. "He has one of the best touches on the Tour, it was fun to play him and also a difficult match today."
Chardy’s bounce-back
Jeremy Chardy first wasted a two-set lead and then bounced back to beat 17th-seeded Tomas Berdych to reach the second round of the French Open.
Chardy led by two sets when their match was stopped by darkness on Tuesday, but Berdych mounted a comeback when they returned.
Chardy played well in the decider and broke Berdych twice to advance with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8), 1-6, 5-7, 6-2 win.