PARIS—NOVAK Djokovic breezed through round 1 of the French Open on chilly Day 3 at Roland Garros, easily trouncing the unseeded Ye-Hsun Lu of Taiwan in straight sets (6-4, 6-4, 6-1).
The Serb’s win Tuesday has fans once again feeling hopeful that this will be the year he finally bags the elusive clay-court championship—the missing piece in the world no. 1’s haul of grand slams.
Given the recent terror attacks in the French capital, security is heavy getting into the stadium, the queue stretching around the block.
But this doesn’t seem to dampen the spirits of tennis fans who wait patiently in the frigid weather.
Earlier, also at Philippe-Chatrier Court, Andy Murray sent Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic packing after five sets (3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5), in a match that had the Brit struggling to stay in the game against his older opponent.
Women’s no. 3, Angelique Kerber of Germany, was the day’s first big casualty on center court when she lost to the unseeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6.
Tennis legend Boris Becker and actor Tim Roth were seen watching the center court matches.
Inquirer Lifestyle’s Day 3 coverage of French Open 2016 is sponsored by Lacoste, a brand exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists Inc. The lifestyle sporting brand was founded by Rene Lacoste, a French tennis star in the 1920s.