By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Novak Djokovic’s quest of a record-breaking 23 Grand Slam championships is still alive after sweeping Marton Fucsovics- 7.6, 6.0, 6.3- during the ongoing French Open last June 1, 2023, to advance to the third-round of the tournament.
After an impressive sweep against Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round, Djokovic showed no signs of slowing down after replicating his majestic court mastery over Fucsovics held in London, France.
The Hungarian tennis star just got no answers to Djokovic’s patience and beautifully-executed offensive game plan for three-straight sets.
Djokovic kicked off his second-round campaign with a series of down-the-line forehand bombs when he noticed Fucsovics’ indecisive movement in the baseline.
The Serbian’s varied attacking approach always kept Fucsovics guessing and was just out of sync trying to figure out Djokovic’s next move.
Fucsovics tried going toe-to-toe with Djokovic in the baseline game but the Hungarian can’t keep up with the speed of the Serbian’s ball.
Fucsovics then tried to wear Djokovic out after throwing short balls inside the net area but the more experienced 22-time Grand Slam champion showed him how it’s done and countered every trick the Hungarian ace deployed.
Djokovic’s eight tallied break points was also one of the highlights of the game as the Serbian just neutralized Fucsovics’ service possessions at will.
Despite the speed and the spin on the first serve, Djokovic knew how to return with ease and just stomped over him in the last four rally exchanges.
With the win, Djokovic will be setting up a third-round clash with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the world’s no. 29 male tennis player.
