JAKARTA - Former world number one Novak Djokovic, who has collected 24 Grand Slam titles, managed to overcome host Valentin Royer to secure his place in the third round of the 2026 French Open or Roland Garros tournament.
The Serbian tennis player, who is the third seed, got a ticket after being forced to fight for three hours and 28 minutes and closing the match with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (9), and 6-3 on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, local time.
"Obviously, the feeling on the court is different when you win a match. So, this is a very important victory in conditions that are not easy for both players," Djokovic said on the ATP official website.
Djokovic entered Roland Garros 2026 after only playing one match on clay this year. He was absent for more than six weeks due to injury when appearing at Indian Wells in March 2026.
His physical condition in Paris was really tested by the two favorite players of the hosts in the first and second rounds of the tournament. He previously also fought four sets when defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his first match last weekend.
"Facing Royer was a very difficult match, a very big challenge from the start. Praise for him for winning the third set, but I feel it was my fault because I was two breaks ahead," said Djokovic.
Djokovic, who now has 30 consecutive wins against the French player, successfully used six of the nine break points he got when facing Royer.
The 39-year-old completely controlled their first meeting on the tour level until a fierce period emerged that presented four consecutive service breaks in the middle of the third set.
Djokovic actually had a break advantage at 3-2 and 4-3, but Royer always immediately responded and finally managed to force the match to continue to the fourth set. Unfortunately, in the fourth set his attempt to come back failed.
In the third round, Djokovic will face Joao Fonseca, the 28th seed from Brazil, who came back from two sets down to beat Croatian Dino Prizmic and secure his place in the third round.
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