Roland Garros: Paire misses a surprise, Djokovic continues confidently
Benoit Paire failed on Monday in Roland Garros against Cameron Norrie close to the goal. Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, entered round two without any problems.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 29, 2023, 04:24 pm
The fans on the Suzanne-Lenglen court really gave their all in the first match on Monday, yes, they would certainly have sung the Marseillaise in honor of Benoit Paire, just like they did the night before with Lucas Pouille. But it wasn't meant to be: Paire led 4: 3 in the fifth set with a break - and still lost 5: 7, 6: 4, 6: 3, 1: 6 and 4: 6.
Paire thanked the fans - and then went straight from the court to his obligatory press conference. Norrie, on the other hand, can prepare for the next away game straight away: In round two, it's exactly against Lucas Pouille.
Djokovic starts with no problems
Denis Shapovalov and Diego Schwartzman also had to go over five sets. Shapovalov defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6 and 6-3. Schwartzman, whose season has not been running smoothly so far, came back from a 2-0 set deficit against Bernabe Zapata Miralles and won 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-0 and 6-4.
As expected, Novak Djokovis had no problems when he started: The two-time champion in Roland Garros defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6: 3, 6: 2 and 7: 6 (1) and will play in round two against Marton Fucsovics on Wednesday. Djokovic let it slide a bit in the end and couldn't serve at 5: 4 in the third set. However, he was never in danger of losing even one set.
Fabio Fognini, on the other hand, won 6: 4, 6: 4 and 6: 3 against a visibly battered Félix Auger-Aliassime. And is now playing against the Australian Jason Kubler.
Here the individual tableau in Roland Garros
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