Novak Djokovic was on Tuesday described as a “snake killing its prey” by vanquished French Open opponent Mikael Ymer as the world No. 1’s bid to become the first man in half a century to win all four Grand Slam titles twice got off to a convincing start.
Djokovic eased to a 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 victory, reaching the second round in Paris for a record-equaling 16th time.
It was also his 32nd win in 33 matches this year, his only loss coming when he was defaulted from the US Open.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It felt like when a snake kills its prey,” was the blunt verdict of 23-year-old Ymer, who never recovered from dropping the first set in just 20 minutes under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier.
“He hits it pretty big. I had chances to rally, but then I got suffocated. It was corner to corner and he rarely misses,” Ymer said. “At the beginning, it was just surreal. The court felt big and I was nervous, because I was facing the best on the other side.”
Tuesday’s demolition was the not the first time that Ymer, the world No. 80 from Sweden, had faced Djokovic, who is chasing a second French Open title and 18th career major.
The two hit together at Wimbledon in 2015 on the morning of the men’s final, when Djokovic went on to beat Roger Federer for the title and Ymer was readying for the boys championship match, which he lost to Reilly Opelka of the US.
Djokovic said that his US Open disqualification — handed out when he swiped a ball that felled a line judge — was definitely a thing of the past, but there was evidence of the old Djokovic feistiness on show on Tuesday.
During the third set, he appeared to be heckled by a spectator wearing a Roger Federer hat.
However, the world No. 1, who shot a prolonged angry glare at his tormentor, shrugged off the incident, which was difficult to ignore at a tournament where only 1,000 fans are allowed on site each day due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“No, that’s my childhood friend. I sent him a kiss after I won the game. It was very nice to see him,” he said.
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