Novak Djokovic 'back' after thumping second-round win at Roland Garros, claims Alex Corretja

Former world number two Alex Corretja has heaped praise on the performance of Novak Djokovic in the second round of the French Open. The 36-year-old secured a thumping win in the round of 64 against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena with a score of 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday.

After the match, Corretja, while talking to Eurosport, heaped praise on the current world number one and stated that it felt like Djokovic was ‘back’ to his best. “Today, Novak played great tennis, he moved extremely well,” said Corretja. “In my opinion, he was hitting the ball way harder than in the first round, and especially he was so focused, so determined. I liked very much what he did today. Today, it felt like Novak is back because we’ve been missing him a lot.”

“Novak looked so calm on the return, so focused. It was very important for me to see the way he was looking into Carballes’ serve and it was huge, because all the time he knew exactly where he wanted to put the ball. It’s so annoying for the Spaniard to see as he served well and all of a sudden, he finds the ball already into his feet. Novak today showed he’s better than we thought at the beginning of the tournament.”