- World No 1 beats French wildcard 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4
- Serb faces Roberto Carballés Baena in second round
Novak Djokovic arrived in Paris for his French Open title defence with ample reasons to doubt himself. He is struggling badly for form, there has been a significant upheaval in his support team, and the 98‑time ATP title winner still has not even reached a single final this season.
He is still Novak Djokovic, though, and still the best player in the world over the past 52 weeks, meaning his presence alone marks him as one of the tournament favourites and a true force. On Tuesday night, he began his title defence in the French capital with a hard‑fought 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a French wildcard, to reach the second round as he continued his search for form.