Djokovic defeats Karballes at Roland Garros and advances to the third round

Novak Djokovic keeps his place on the throne as a secure No. 1, but the Serbian, despite the less exciting start to the match, finds his rhythm and grows throughout the match, outclassing Chatrier Carpayes-Baena who surrendered 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. The way to the third round is left to the defending champion. “The first set was very complicated – said the world number one – Roberto played with great precision and I had to organize myself to score a point. Then I grew and in the end I am really happy with my level.” The audience applauds, he is in a good mood and performs some skits with Marion Bartoli. The (humid) air at Slam seems to give him positive vibes and the head-to-head with Sinner to stay at the top of the rankings has ignited the fire that was burning under the ashes.

the match

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In short, it ended as on the two previous occasions of meeting between the two: Nole never conceded a set to Karballes neither in the first round of the 2019 US Open nor in the 2023 Australian Open, always on his debut. The match will be held indoors due to rain, which does not give any respite to the tournament, which has been seriously delayed. The start was a sleet, with Nole immediately conceding the opening serve to Karballes but doing well to immediately recover the disadvantage. Nole has the chance to take the lead in the fourth game, but the Spaniard, who reached the Marrakesh final after being beaten by Matteo Berrettini, was able to recover thanks to a serve and some nice concessions from the Serbian. But in the tenth game, Djokovic took the lead and beat Karballes to win the first set. There was almost no story in the second half as Nole took the lead in the second half, managing to respond perfectly, making it 4-0 before suffering a counter-kick from his opponent. Djokovic, very centered, breaks the Spaniard again and goes on to close 6-1 after half an hour. In the third set, the Serbian played at a very high level, and Karballes tried to stay on his heels but actually fell on a tiebreaker, struggled again and also lost the third set 6-2.