Novak Djokovic’s bid for a much-wanted Olympic gold medal began in style with a 6-0 6-1 demolition of Matthew Ebden.
Serbia’s Djokovic has won almost everything there is in tennis but has never bettered his bronze from Beijing 2008.
He needed just 53 minutes to beat Australia’s Ebden, who was playing his first singles match for two years.
Ebden did, however, win over the crowd with his self-effacing reaction to what was unfolding on court.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and top seed in Paris, could potentially face long-time rival Rafael Nadal next.
Spain’s Nadal is in singles action later in the week against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
Reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz also made quick progress, beating Lebanese Hady Habib 6-3 6-1.
Ebden, primarily a doubles player, knew he was facing one of the toughest tasks in tennis – as his social media post on the day of the draw showed., external
And it was exactly as he’d feared: after 30 minutes, he was 6-0 2-0 down and looked to be out of ideas.
He tried everything – including an underarm serve that Djokovic still returned – before jokingly offering his racquet to a group in the crowd to see if they could do any better.
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The biggest cheer of the afternoon came when Ebden finally got on the board for 4-1 in the second set.
Ebden put his shirt over his head and celebrated towards the crowd, who gave him a standing ovation, before an amused Djokovic patted him on the shoulder as they went to their chairs.
Djokovic may have wished for slightly tougher opposition to find his rhythm on the court, but he will welcome a quick victory nonetheless.
Rain continued to disrupt play on the outside courts, with no play possible at all in the morning. (BBC)
