Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the French Open on Thursday, extending his unbeaten record against French opponents at Roland Garros with a straight-sets win over Corentin Moutet, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1).
The 24-time Grand Slam champion improved to 12-0 against Frenchmen in the tournament, though he was tested in the third set. Djokovic saved a set point before forcing a tiebreak and taking control.
"Things got a little bit complicated with the blister. That was bothering me for a bit," said Djokovic, who took a medical timeout earlier in the third set to treat a blister on his left foot. "But I don't think it's going to be an issue for me to recover."
Moutet briefly threatened to extend the match, but Djokovic regained momentum and closed out the win in front of an energized home crowd.
"Obviously atmosphere was electric, especially in that third set. He was close to win it, so the crowd got involved. And it was, yeah, not much fun for me," said Djokovic.
With the victory, Djokovic reached the last 32 in Paris for the 20th time — surpassing Rafael Nadal’s record of 19.
The Serbian star also reflected on his unusual late-night cycling trip around the Arc de Triomphe.
"At one point we had cars all over the place. It was quite an adrenaline experience, but I don't think I will repeat that," Djokovic said. "Probably in all other streets, it's much more safe. But, yeah, we were crazy enough to get into that roundabout. It was fun but at one point also a bit dangerous."
Djokovic next faces 23-year-old Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic, who upset Canadian 27th seed Denis Shapovalov in five sets: 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3.
With his next match possibly falling on Saturday night, Djokovic joked with organizers to avoid scheduling him during the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan.
"It's going to be PSG that I will support. I will definitely watch it if I'm not playing night session," he said. "Yeah, that will be nice. FYI, Roland Garros schedule..."