French Open: Djokovic maintains flawless round one record with clinical win over McDonald

PARIS: Serbian tennis maestro Novak Djokovic maintained his flawless round-one record at the French Open after breezing past Mackenzie McDonald with a clinical win on Tuesday.

Three days after lifting his 100th tour-level title, the three-time French Open winner kicked off his 2025 campaign with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over McDonald in a fixture that lasted one hour and 58 minutes inside Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The 38-year-old’s dominance in the opening round resonates with his impressive record. Djokovic is yet to lose a set in a Paris opener since he needed four sets to overcome Evgeny Korolev in 2010.

Delightful touch and finish at the net #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/WvFkOCDrZY

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2025

“I try to enjoy every moment on this very special and beautiful court. I feel good, clearly, even more here because I’m reliving the memories of last year’s Olympics, the last time I played on this court. [They are] beautiful emotions. It was a solid match. I know that he can play to a better standard than today, but I am very happy with what I produced,” Djokovic said as quoted from ATP.

Strong gusts blew across Court Philippe-Chatrier, and the roof was closed early in the second set as rain began to pelt down. By that moment, Djokovic had already established his supremacy with a commanding performance.

The American had no answer to Djokovic’s consistent deep baseline hitting. Throughout the contest, McDonald broke the Serbian’s serve just once in the second set to reduce the deficit to 3-5. However, the minor setback didn’t faze Djokovic, who breezed past to take a 2-0 lead.

Last year, Djokovic stormed into the French Open quarter-final but had to withdraw from the tournament due to a knee injury. He returned to the venue later in 2024 and scripted a historic Olympic gold medal triumph by ousting the Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz.

“History in this sport has given me everything in my life, it means a lot to me. I always try to make history where I can… In all the tournaments I play, all the practises all the matches, and especially during the biggest tournaments in the world. There is an opportunity to make more history, and that is one of the biggest motivations I have for competitions, for continuing to work and better myself,” Djokovic added. (ANI)