Novak Djokovic sweeps into French Open third round

Novak Djokovic overcame Argentina’s Guido Pella on a rainy Paris day to set up an intriguing third-round clash against Grigor Dimitrov at the French Open. The world number one took to Court Philippe Chatrier later than scheduled at 4pm local time after the predicted bad weather interrupted play. Djokovic was held up once again by the rain in the second set but, when on court, wasted no time in seeing off world number 83, Pella, 6-2 6-0 6-2, to reach the last 32. There he will meet Dimitrov, the Bulgarian 26th seed, who beat Djokovic on the Madrid clay earlier this month. Dimitrov made it through around a couple of rain delays with a comprehensive 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 win over France’s Lucas Pouille on Court Suzanne Lenglen, and Djokovic was determined not to hang about on Chatrier. Moving Pella around with his characteristically precise groundstrokes he opened up a space to thump away a smash and break for 4-2, and a run of 11 straight games either side of the rain delay as good as ended the contest. When the sun shortly shone as he was closing on victory, Djokovic gestured to the sky to clear, much to the shivering crowd’s delight. He will face Dimitrov on Saturday, weather permitting, in a match that is already the talk of Roland Garros. “It’s different when you play a Masters event, best of three sets, and then you come to a Grand Slam,” said Dimitrov. “Your mindset, everything you set up in a different way. “I feel I’m playing good. I know I can bring a bit more steam into the game. I think I might need that in the next round.” HyperSmash.com