Novak Djokovic survived a marathon first set to brush past Marton Fucsovics 7-6(2) 6-0 6-3 at the French Open. The third seed struggled to close out the opener but went on to dominate as he set up a grudge match with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 23-year-old upset Djokovic in their latest meeting and the Serb will look to exact his revenge.
Djokovic came into the match with an undefeated 4-0 record against Fucsovics and got off to a fast start when he broke in the Hungarian’s first service game. But the third seed had trouble on his own serve, saving four break points while leading 3-1 and another three at 4-2.
The Serb roared as he held to put himself within a game of the opening set but he continued to struggle with the windy conditions. Djokovic double-faulted while he was serving for the set, gifting Fucsovics a crucial break as the world No 83 won three games in a row to draw level.
The set went to a tiebreak, where the two-time French Open champion raised his level to finally take the opener 7-6(2) after an hour and 27 minutes. And it was a completely different story in set number two, as Djokovic went full steam ahead.
He broke Fucsovics three times to race to a 5-0 lead before encountering some trouble when trying to serve out the set once again. But Djokovic was able to fend off a break point and took the second set in just 33 minutes – a stark contrast to the first.
The 36-year-old extended his run of games to eight as he broke to start the third. This time the world No 83 refused to let him run away with it and broke straight back but Djokovic quickly regained his advantage.
He set up more break points at 4-2, putting his finger to his lips to celebrate before wagging his finger. But Fucsovics refused to go away as he had a lifeline with a break point as Djokovic served for the match, and the Serb dumped the ball into the net to hand his opponent a crucial game.
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