Novak Djokovic won 14 of the last 17 games to comfortably dispose of Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets in their second-round clash at the French Open.
A vintage display from Djokovic saw the defending champion and world No 1 break Carballes Baena’s serve five consecutive times at one point on his way to an emphatic 6-4 6-1 6-2 victory.
Djokovic was, though, made to work very hard by the unseeded Spaniard in the first set, being broken in the opening game before replying in kind.
Leading 5-4 on serve, Djokovic then earned the crucial break to take the first set and the blow proved too great for Carballes Baena to recover from, as he was broken a further four times on his way to losing the second set 6-1.
The pair’s previous two encounters were both at hard-court majors but the outcome was no different on the Parisian clay as Djokovic sauntered ahead 5-1 in the third set on his way to a convincing victory
The Serb, looking to extend his record haul of 24 Grand Slam titles with a fourth crown at Roland Garros, will next face either Gael Monfils or 30th seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Straight-set victory for Zverev over Goffin
World No 4 Alexander Zverev also reached the third round with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-2 victory over experienced Belgian David Goffin on Thursday.
The German, who ousted 14-times champion Rafael Nadal in the opening round, had to work hard to win the first set tiebreak but broke early in the second.
Former quarter-finalist Goffin nearly broke Zverev’s serve in the fourth game but the German held firm, mixing up his game well to close out the match.
“I was happy that I ran away with it but also happy that I played well,” said Zverev, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 2022 French Open semi-finals.
Zverev will now face Italian Luciano Darderi or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev is also through to the third round after his opponent Miomir Kecmanovic retired during the second set of their match, when trailing 6-1 5-0.
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