Djokovic beats Sousa easily, marches into French Open third round

Reigning men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic enjoyed another routine win at Roland Garros on Wednesday as he beat Joao Sousa in straight sets to reach the third round.

Sousa was able to raise his game and prove competitive after a one-sided opener, but the world number 59 never looked likely to cause an upset on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Djokovic, a straight-sets winner over Marcel Granollers in round one, completed a 6-1 6-4 6-3 victory in just over two hours and will face Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in his next outing.

Sousa found himself outclassed in the early exchanges and only avoided a first-set whitewash by fighting back from 0-30 and 15-40 down as he served in the sixth game.

The Portuguese put up more of a fight during set two, retrieving a break to level at 2-2 as the reigning champion briefly lost his focus.

Yet Djokovic immediately broke again and was able to extend his lead with the final outcome appearing inevitable.

To his credit, Sousa refused to give in and a frustrated Djokovic threw his racquet to the ground after a break-point opportunity had passed him by in game five of the third set.

Djokovic was then made to work hard for a hold of his own, but he overcame the minor blip to enjoy further success on the Sousa serve and battled through another testing game before sealing victory.

Jeu, set et match @DjokerNole
6/1, 6/4, 6/3 @joaosousa30 … et pour les ramasseurs pic.twitter.com/bQHY3HRcQJ

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2017

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Djokovic [2] bt Sousa 6-1 6-4 6-3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 34/24
Sousa – 15/22

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 2/1
Sousa – 2/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 6/14
Sousa – 1/5

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Djokovic – 58
Sousa – 55

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Djokovic – 80/49
Sousa – 61/41

TOTAL POINTS
Djokovic – 99
Sousa – 72