New Delhi: Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Wednesday overcame a resilient Jaume Munar in straight sets, while top-ranked Simona Halep also brushed off Alison Riske as the two tennis aces advanced to the next round of the Roland Garros.
Seeded a lowly 20 in the latest French Open due to his injury-enforced absence recently, Djokovic was made to toil for every point in the Round of 64 of the Men’s Singles with the first set going down to the tiebreaker, where Djokovic eased to a 7-1 win.
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Although the 21-year-old Spaniard- Munar showed sparks of brilliance in patches, he could not sustain his tenacity for the remainder of the match. Coupled with recurrent erroneous shots and the technical superiority of his opponent, he bowed out to a 4-6, 4-6 loss in the following sets.
Djokovic, currently ranked 22 in the world, will now face 13th seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the Round of 32, scheduled to be played on Friday.
Meanwhile, current World No. 1 Halep had a sloppy start, making 16 unforced errors and enabling the 83rd-ranked American Riske to initially race to a 5-0 lead in the first set and eventually win it 6-2.
However, following a restroom-break, the Romanian emerged as a different player and completely turned the match on its head, winning the next two sets 6-1, 6-1.
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Halep, who needs to at least reach the semi-finals to retain her World No. 1 rank, will now face 72nd-ranked Taylor Townsend of the United States in the Round of 64 on Thursday.
(With ANI inputs)