Paris: He may be carrying a little more around the middle than in his Roland Garros pomp, but the star appeal of Andre Agassi was undeniable at the French Open here Wednesday as his new charge Novak Djokovic romped to a second-round win.
Almost as many cameras were trained on the US tennis star as were on Djokovic throughout the latter’s 6-1 6-4 6-3 dismantling of Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
Reigning champion Djokovic teamed up with 1999 champion Agassi in a dream-team player-coach combination just before the start of the tournament.
Already the signs were good on Court Suzanne Lenglen. There was a spring in the step of the World No. 2 that had seemed missing in recent months.
“Well, that’s what these ‘Super-coaches’ give you,” former World No.1 and triple French champion Mats Wilander stated. “They help you with all the little things. Obviously, they know what it is like, they know what you need to be a champion.”
Djokovic looked every bit a champion as he controlled his opponent throughout, with Agassi closely monitoring from courtside, a look of concern occasionally clouding his mien.
But Agassi needn’t have worried. Having raced through the first set in a little over half an hour, second seed Djokovic established his rhythm and then just pulled away.
The man expected to give defending champion Djokovic a run for his money, fourth seed Rafael Nadal also produced a clay court masterclass for Robin Hasse of the Netherlands winning 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted 111 minutes to romp into the third round.
The Spaniard was at his imperious best hitting winners from all corners. He broke Hasse five times during the match, and the two times he faced a breakpoint on his own serve, he quickly wiped them off.
Earlier in the day French hopes took a beating at Jo Wilfried Tsonga lost his second round encounter Renzo Olivo. The Argentine coming into the tie after 23 consecutive first round losses shocked Tsonga 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(6-8), 6-4 in a match that had spilled over from Tuesday.
When play was called off, Olivo was leading 5-4 with Tsonga’s serve to follow. He promptly broke the Frenchman when the game resumed Wednesday to script the biggest win of his career.
Agencies
