Djokovic extends flawless French record

Story of the match

The shackles were off following Djokovic’s drought-breaking 100th career singles title in Geneva leading in and it was one less concern as he maintained focus on his 21st Paris campaign.

The 38-year-old breezed past Mackenzie McDonald ahead of his third meeting with Moutet, who as history shows had a momentous task on his plate.

The 73rd-ranked Frenchman had never taken a set off his heavily fancied foe and was aiming to become the first player to deny Djokovic before the quarter-finals in Paris since Philipp Kohlschreiber in 2009 and the first since Denis Istomin at Australian Open 2017 to humble him in the second round at any Slam.

Moutet last year matched his deepest run at a major with a fourth-round finish on home soil and looked immediately up for the fight with the Suzanne-Lenglen crowd egging him on.

A break from the off gave him a spring in his step but in no way set the tone of the opening set as Djokovic quickly kicked into gear and rolled through it in 43 minutes.

The Frenchman survived a 12-minute struggle on serve to open the second set, an indication of just how hard he had to labour to keep himself in with a chance.

A moment of Moutet magic – a set-point saving tweener half-volley winner – drew a wide grin of approval from his opponent but only delayed the inevitable as Djokovic surged to a two-set lead.

On serve at 2-3 in the third, Djokovic received treatment on his left big toe for a blister after he pulled up gingerly on the run. He was broken for the first time upon the resumption before he settled in again and levelled.

He was not out of the woods yet as he faced a set point on serve at 5-6 before he reeled off nine of the last 10 points for a clash against Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic.

Key stats

Djokovic’s sixth straight win improved his record against Frenchmen to 134-21, including a dominant 44-2 at the majors.

Only Jo Wilfried Tsonga at Australian Open 2010 and Sebastien Grosjean at Wimbledon 2005 have snared a Grand Slam win.

Benoit Paire was the last Frenchman who claimed the honours against him on tour at the 2018 Miami Masters, when Djokovic was on the comeback from injury.

The sixth seed became just the second player in the Open era to reach the third round at a single Slam 20 times, after Roger Federer at the Australian Open.

Moutet fell to 1-14 against top 10 opponents with his sole victory earlier this month against Holger Rune at the Rome Masters.

Djokovic’s assessment

The blister on his left foot, gave Djokovic added incentive to get the job done in three. The last thing he needed was a protracted battle.

"I mean, it was a good match, a good fight, particularly in the third. Things got a little bit complicated with the blister. That was bothering me for a bit," Djokovic said.

"I ended out the match well, moving well, playing a great tiebreak. Obviously atmosphere was electric, especially in that third set. He was close to win it, so the crowd got involved.

"And it was not much fun for me. Of course it's never easy, but I try to stay calm and do what I need to do, and I think I have done that in a really good way."

While it was strictly business on Thursday, Djokovic revealed that on his day off he had borrowed a bike from Roland-Garros to take a leisurely ride around Paris' most iconic and hectic roundabout of all places.

"We were kind of trying our luck a little bit with that roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe. To be honest at one point we had cars all over the place," he said. "It was quite an adrenaline experience, but I don't think I will repeat that, especially in that environment where we were filmed. Probably in all other streets, it's much more safe."