More could be expected from Novak Djokovic's return at French Open, says Mats Wilander

Former world number one Mats Wilander believes that Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic’s return was not as good as it should’ve been during his French Open first-round outing. The 36-year-old, who is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles, secured a comfortable win on Tuesday against France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6, 6-4.

Wilander was quoted in a report as saying that while he was not expecting anything but a win for someone like Djokovic, the 37-year-old must improve his return going forward into the competition. “His return of serve is definitely not where it used to be, where it needs to be,” he said. It’s difficult to do on a clay court with such a big serve and so much spin from Pierre-Hugues.

“In the end he goes out, he’s focused, he wins, the crowd is against him, he loves that. The only expectation I had for Novak was to win. He’s not going to lose this match, but it’s not easy to play someone who serves and volleys. He looked a little bit off balance, but I got what I expected, which was a three-set straight victory for Novak.”

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