Novak Djokovic declared that he will go into the Roland Garros title defence with “low expectations and high hopes” prior to the competition. Nothing about his mindset has altered following his opening-round victory over Pierre-Hugues Herbert on Tuesday, 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4.
He stated, “I still stay with it,” on his earlier evaluation. The competitions in Monaco, Rome, and Geneva got off to a great start for me. My first few games were excellent. Then, the second and third games were very dissimilar. So as not to get ahead of myself.
“I thought it was a good performance for me, solid. Of course I could have done better, I think, on return games, but also credit to him for serving very well, for changing things up.”
Djokovic singled to Herbert’s kick serve and net play as evidence that his opponent had contributed to the match’s difficulty. Despite the Frenchman’s triumph, which was enthusiastically applauded by the Court Philippe-Chatrier audience, Djokovic was always prepared for the crucial situations.
“In the moments when it mattered I think I delivered, played a great tie-break, stayed focused,” he stated. “I’m glad that I started the way I started, the way I felt on the court. Comparing to the previous weeks of tournaments I played, I felt good, better. So I’m moving in a positive direction. It’s just the beginning.”
In particular, the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings was happy with his mentality in his second Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter against Herbert, even though he insisted that it was just one match.
“I was fist pumping, I was focused, I was there, I was present,” he admitted. “So I’m pleased with the way at least I behaved or had a mindset on the court. That was something that I was looking for. And where are you going to feel that way if not in Grand Slams?”
After that, Djokovic will play Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round. In the third round, he might face Gael Monfils or Lorenzo Musetti. To have a chance of holding off Jannik Sinner and maintaining his World No. 1 ranking after the competition, the Serbian needs to make it to at least the final.
