Roger Federer took "a lot of confidence" from his four-set win over Marin Cilic as he produced his best display of the year at the French Open.
The 39-year-old beat the 2014 US Open champion 6-2 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Thursday, building on his first-round defeat of Denis Istomin with an impressive performance.
Federer looked in command in the first set but lost rhythm in the second amid sharpened play from Cilic and a strange confrontation with the umpire after a time violation warning while receiving serve.
The match was on a knife-edge heading into the third-set tie-break, but Federer was clinical when it mattered, serving out the set with an ace before assuming control again in the fourth.
"[It was a] very good match for me, I thought," said Federer, who will face Dominik Koepfer in round three. "A bit of up-and-downs in the second and third sets.
"The good thing, I feel like I come out of a match like this and I know why it was up and down, and then that I was able to attain a solid level once he did break back in the third set and things were looking dangerous for me.
"That I was able to step up a gear, stay with him, and then pull away from him, I think that gives me a lot of confidence."
DJOKOVIC AND NADAL IN CRUISE CONTROL
World number one Novak Djokovic is another who is finding his feet on the Paris dirt, the 2016 champion beating clay specialist Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Djokovic, who will face Ricardas Berankis next after his win over James Duckworth, struck 31 winners as he moved to 22-3 for the year with his 350th grand slam match win.
"I'm playing well, feeling great. I'm ready to go deep in this tournament," he said. "Hopefully, that's going to be the case."
Defending champion Rafael Nadal was in imperious form in the late match, dispatching Richard Gasquet 6-0 7-5 6-2.
Nadal, who turned 35 on Thursday, won the opening seven games in under half an hour in a largely one-sided contest as he improved to 17-0 against the Frenchman, the most one-sided head-to-head of his career.
The Spaniard, who has not even dropped a set to Gasquet since 2008, said of winning once again in three: "I honestly don't complain at all! The main thing for me is to feel myself play well.
"In theory, it's better to save some energy, but at the same time, sometimes when you are pushed at the beginning of a tournament, you went through some tough moments, that helps a lot for the next rounds.
"It happened for me in Rome like this. I had some tough challenges at the beginning of the tournament, and then you get to the quarters, semis and final and you know you're going to suffer and you're more ready for the situation."
MONFLIS OUT, KWON EYEING SLICE OF HISTORY
Cameron Norrie continued the British interest in the French capital, recovering from a set down to defeat Lloyd Harris and reach round three for the first time, and will face Nadal next.
In a mixed day for the seeded players, Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini advanced in straight sets while Jannik Sinner beat compatriot Gianluca Mager 6-1 7-5 3-6 6-3.
However, Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev was beaten in four sets by veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber, while 21st seed Alex De Minaur lost in four sets to Marco Cecchinato.
There was also disappointment for home favourite Gael Monfils. The 14th seed was beaten 6-0 2-6 6-4 6-3 by Mikael Ymer, the world number 105.
However, Thursday saw a moment to remember for Kwon Soon-woo, who reached round three of a major for the first time with a straight-sets victory over Andreas Seppi. He is bidding to become the first South Korean player to get to round four at Roland Garros.
There were impressive wins as well for teenagers Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz Garfica, who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets to secure a meeting with Jan-Lennard Struff.
Paris gets Olympic Games under way with stylish opening ceremony
Paris kicked off the 2024 Olympic Games by making history with the first opening ceremony to be held outside on a rainy night in France.
It is the first time in 100 years that the Games have been held in the French capital, and despite the constant showers, thousands of Olympians from the 205 delegations celebrated as they travelled down the River Seine on boats and barges.
During the nearly four-hour sprawling ceremony, spectators were treated to performances by Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion as the city showed off the story of France while commemorating Olympic history.
On a tour of the city, Paris' most well-known landmarks, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, were on show as fans packed in around the parade route to get a glimpse of the showcase.
The Olympic flag was delivered to the Eiffel Tower on the back of a mechanical horse travelling down the river, while a masked individual carried the torch across the city.
An incredible light show on the Tower then restarted the torch relay, as Zinedine Zidane reappeared to hand it to two-time gold medallist Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, with the help of fellow tennis icon Serena Williams, American sprinter Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci carried the torch back down the river on its way to the cauldron.
Some of France's best Olympians helped carry it the rest of the way before judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the flame in the hot air balloon cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky, to officially mark the start of the Games.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, which will close on August 11.
Paris get Olympic Games under way with stylish opening ceremony
Paris kicked off the 2024 Olympic Games by making history with the first opening ceremony to be held outside on a rainy night in France.
It is the first time in 100 years that the Games have been held in the French capital, and despite the constant showers, thousands of Olympians from the 205 delegations celebrated as they travelled down the River Seine on boats and barges.
During the nearly four-hour sprawling ceremony, spectators were treated to performances by Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion as the city showed off the story of France while commemorating Olympic history.
On a tour of the city, Paris' most well-known landmarks, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, were on show as fans packed in around the parade route to get a glimpse of the showcase.
The Olympic flag was delivered to the Eiffel Tower on the back of a mechanical horse travelling down the river, while a masked individual carried the torch across the city.
An incredible light show on the Tower then restarted the torch relay, as Zinedine Zidane reappeared to hand it to two-time gold medallist Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, with the help of fellow tennis icon Serena Williams, American sprinter Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci carried the torch back down the river on its way to the cauldron.
Some of France's best Olympians helped carry it the rest of the way before judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the flame in the hot air balloon cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky, to officially mark the start of the Games.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, which will close on August 11.
Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal
Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.
Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.
The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.
Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.
If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.
"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.
"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times.
"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."
Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).
He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.
Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
