Interview with No. 1: Djokovic cruises to begin 'Novak Slam II' bid
The Serbian rolled over Hubert Hurkacz in the first round Monday.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic began his bid for the ‘Novak Slam II’ Monday at the French Open, advancing past Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
"It's quite a different situation for me now than it was 12 months ago. I've put myself in a situation where I can actually make history in tennis again and I have very high ambitions for this tournament. It's not a secret," Djokovic said.
"But at the same time, it's not the first time that I'm facing these kind of circumstances. It's not the first Grand Slam in my career. I have played so many. I know it's two weeks potentially long, and I just need to do things that have worked for me in the past."
After losing in the quarterfinals to Marco Cecchinato at Roland Garros a year ago and facing persistent questions about his form, Djokovic rematerialized to hoist the next three Grand Slam championships—culminating with a scintillating win over Rafael Nadal in January’s Australian Open final. In 2016, Djokovic joined Rod Laver as the only man in the Open Era to hold all four major titles simultaneously when he topped Andy Murray for his first Coupe des Mousquetaires.
Against Hurkacz, Djokovic set the tone from the start, breaking the Pole to open the match. The 15-time major champion was efficient, winning 12 of the 14 points when he came forward, and dropped serve just once when he held a double-break advantage in the second set. The two were squaring off for the first time.
"I had to start sharp with the right intensity. And a break of serve in the first game gave me wings, I would say. [That] relaxed me a bit so I could just start off in the best possible fashion," said Djokovic. "I thought most of my service games I won comfortably. I was pretty dominant on my serves, and thought I played a very solid match."
