Novak
Djokovic is virtually unbeatable in the first round of Grand Slams and notched
his 69th consecutive win in Round 1 matches since he turned 19. The Serb has
been virtually unbeatable in the opening rounds throughout his career.
Despite
doubts about his level in recent months and inconsistent results, the Serb's
French Open debut was no problem for him. The 24-times Grand Slam champion took
a smooth win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a talented French wild card entry.
The world
No. 1 reached 69 consecutive first-round victories at a Grand Slam tournament.
The last time he bowed out in the first round was at the 2006
Australian Open,
when he was just 18 years old and lost in four sets to Patrick Goldstein. In addition, since then he has only twice had
second round defeats (2008 Wimbledon and 2017 Australian Open.
At the
French Open in particular, the Serb has never been knocked out in the first
round. In addition, he has consistently excelled at
Roland Garros throughout
his career, despite the dominance of Rafael Nadal. Djokovic won three titles,
was runner-up four times and reached the semi-finals five other times, with a
remarkable 92-16 (85%) record.
Djokovic
will face Roberto Carballes Baena (No. 63) in the second round for the third
time in his career, though never before on clay. Should he prevail, he will be
in the third round at Roland Garros for the 19th consecutive time.