Mats Wilander assessed that Novak Djokovic’s return of serve is not up to the mark as feels it is not “where it needs to be” after his Roland Garros win against French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Djokovic began his title defense campaigns at French major with a 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4 win in the opening round against ATP #142 on Tuesday.
The legendary Serbian broke Herbert’s serve three times but had some issues returning the 33-year-old French wildcard’s serve. It was the second encounter between the pair with the World #1 having beaten Herbert at the Paris Masters in 2013.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is attempting to win his fourth Roland Garros while also seeking his first title in 2024. He last reached a championship match in November last year when he clinched the ATP year-end championships in Turin, Italy.
Wilander, a 7-time major champion himself expressed his thoughts on Djokovic’s first round performance against Herbert.
“The only expectation I had for Novak was to win. He’s not going to lose this match, but it’s not easy to play someone who serves and volleys,” the former World No. 1 told Eurosport.
“He looked a little bit off balance, but I got what I expected, which was a three-set straight victory for Novak. I think Pierre-Hugues started playing better [in the second set] for sure, started feeling a little more comfortable.
“Most probably, he would’ve felt like: hold on a second, Novak isn’t playing at his best, I’ve got a chance here to maybe win a set.
“At the same time, Novak complained a few times that the ball was moving in the air. The roof was open for I believe the first match today on Philippe-Chatrier, maybe the second.
“It was tough conditions. It’s very cold, the ball doesn’t fly very far or very fast and then it moves sideways.
“His return of serve is definitely not where it used to be, where it needs to be and it’s difficult to do on a clay court with such a big serve and so much spin from Pierre-Hugues. In the end he goes out, he’s focused, he wins, the crowd is against him, he loves that.”
Former world No 4 Tim Henman also weighed in on the matchup: “I think if it goes to one set all, everyone is thinking could there be an upset on the cards?
“But in those biggest moments, and certainly – with all due respect – against someone like Herbert on clay, you just sensed that Djokovic was going to go into that lockdown mode where he doesn’t make any unforced errors. To go two sets to love up, it just gives him a great cushion.
“Djokovic is one of the few players who can really play their way into form in a Grand Slam. I think the others are just trying to win each and every match. This was a great draw, I think Herbert deserves a lot of credit.”
Djokovic who turned 37 this week, will take on ATP #63, Roberto Carballes Baena in the R2 of the tournament.