World No.1 Novak Djokovic put on a clinical display to stroll past Uruguyan Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday and reach the third round of the French Open.
Cuevas, ranked 92nd, showed flashes of resistance against the 34-year-old Serbian but the top seed raised his game when he needed to.
Roger Federer lost his trademark cool but found some vintage tennis as he beat Marin Cilic 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to move into the third round.
The 39-year-old Swiss brushed Cilic aside in a one-sided first set but lost the second after a heated debate with the chair umpire over the time he was taking to towel down. He, however, regained composure and control of the match.
World No.2 Daniil Medvedev overcame a slow start to beat unseeded American Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. French Gael Monfils struggled for rhythm as he lost 0-6, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6 to Mikael Ymer.
Injured Barty out
Women’s world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty retired from her second round match against Poland’s Magda Linette with an injury.
The 2019 champion, who was trailing 1-6, 2-2, started the second-round match with taping on her left thigh.
World No.6 Elina Svitolina said she has turned to psychology to help her on court after her 6-0, 6-4 victory over American Ann Li.
Svitolina revealed she has signed up for online psychology courses in a bid to cope with the drastic changes in a professional athlete’s lifestyle in a Covid-19 world.
“I think it’s very important, especially these days with all that’s happening with Covid-19, with all the restrictions that we get,” she said.
Last year’s runner-up Sofia Kenin eased into the third round with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over fellow-American Hailey Baptiste. Sloane Stephens claimed her first win over a top-10 opponent since 2018, defeating world No.10 Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-1.
Coco Gauff reached the third round for the first time as the 17-year-old American battled past China’s Wang Qiang 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).
Bopanna advances
In the men’s doubles, India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Franko Skugor advanced to the pre-quarter finals with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Americans Frances Tiafo and Nicholas Monroe.