Novak Djokovic's target practice often failed to hit the bullseye but that did not prevent the Serbian eking out a 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4 second round win over Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar at the French Open on Wednesday, 30 May.
The Serb started off by serving a fault, ended the opening game with a double fault and fired plenty of wayward shots wide and long as he tried to subdue the 155th-ranked Munar.
Djokovic was so restless that after being broken in the ninth game of the first set, instead of sitting down and taking in some fluids, he simply walked over to the other side of the net and went through the motions of playing some air shots.
While it was obvious his game is still a long way from the form he produced to win four slams on the trot from 2015 to 2016, his surgically repaired elbow got a workout before he set up a third-round clash with Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.
“I went through my ups and downs and I’m not really satisfied with the performance. I just played enough in the right moments to win the match,” admitted 20th seed Djokovic, who is still trying to rediscover his golden touch since undergoing elbow surgery this year.
"I have good days of serving when everything flows. But the issue is that I had to (change) the service motion a lot because of the injury (and) I changed the racket.
"I've already had three different service motions this year. So it's something that I'm working on. At times today, I didn't feel rhythm at all of the serve. So I was missing a lot of first serves."
Halep Rewarded for Patience After Risky Start
Top seed Simona Halep reached the second round of the French Open a day later than expected and not without a fright as she recovered from a slow start to beat American Alison Riske 2-6 6-1 6-1.
The Romanian lost the opening five games as she sprinkled unforced errors across Court Philippe Chatrier but there was no sign of panic and her game belatedly clicked into gear.
The 83rd-ranked Riske managed to win only three games in her previous claycourt meeting with the twice Roland Garros runner-up but broke serve three times in the opening set.
Halep quickly reasserted her authority though with the depth and power of her groundstrokes stopping Riske in her tracks -- conceding just 14 points in sets two and three.
She finished with a flurry of winners as she got back up to speed after the match had originally been cancelled on Tuesday due to weather delays.
After having to wait until the fourth day of the tournament to begin her campaign for a first Grand Slam title, Halep will be in action again on Thursday, 31 May, against American wildcard Taylor Townsend.
"I'm ready for tomorrow, I feel strong in my legs," Halep, runner-up last year, said on court.
"She (Riske) played really well in the first set and I knew I just had to start getting some balls in and be more aggressive."
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