Novak Djokovic overcomes ‘impossible’ serve from Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to claim battling win in Roland Garros opener

Novak Djokovic started his 2026 French Open campaign with a battling victory over home-grown favourite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to reach the second round.

The 39-year-old suffered a scare early on after losing the opening set but demonstrated his powers of recovery once again to claim the following three sets to win 5-7 7-5 6-1 6-4.

Mpetshi Perricard appeared to be suffering with a wrist injury in the third set and failed to rediscover his fine form which saw him sprint out of the blocks early on.

The Serbian punished his opponent and even performed a little dance after claiming victory in front of an excited Roland Garros crowd.

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"Congratulations to Giovanni," Djokovic said in French in his on-court interview following his win.

"I played him for the first time and it's practically impossible to see where he will serve. It's like something I've seen maybe one or two times in my career, with Reilly Opelka or Ivo Karlovic.

"In a match like that, you have to stay focussed and wait for an opportunity. It was a bit difficult, but in the end, I found my best tennis and best return game at the right moment."

‘That’s worth a wiggle’ – Djokovic shows off dance moves after first-round win

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The opening set was a close affair, but after Djokovic saved three break points with the scores at 5-5, Mpetshi Perricard finally took his chance and broke the Serbian at the fourth time of asking.

The French crowd when Mpetshi Perricard won the opening set and there was a faint chance that an upset was on the cards in the first round of the tournament.

However, Djokovic responded in typical fashion by storming back to win the second set and the momentum completely shifted in his favour after the Frenchman's game was hindered by an apparent hand injury in the third set.

Speaking about the injury after the game, the Frenchman said: "There were just cramps.

"It takes time to go away, and against that type of player when you can't hold the racquet or serve, it's very tricky."

The veteran took just 22 minutes to race into a 2-1 set lead with mistakes starting to creep into Mpetshi Perricard's game - he ended with 46 unforced errors to his name compared to 18 from Djokovic.

‘Bring it on!’ – Djokovic cups ear to Roland Garros crowd after winning second set

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Mpetshi Perricard appeared to shake off the injury in the fourth set but Djokovic was too strong and finished the match with a stunning shot and followed up match point with a cheeky dance on the court.

When assessing his performance after the game, Djokovic said: "It is more challenging. For me on this surface, and I've said it before, obviously this is not an ideal strategy coming into Roland Garros with one match on clay.

"That was not part of the plan, but it was a situation that I had to accept with the circumstances of being injured. It is what it is, and I got myself prepared for Paris. I was always planning to come and try my best, try and get as far as I can in the tournament.

"Let's see, the body's feeling alright for now, and, of course, I have to get the game together. Hopefully that will happen as I progress."

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