French Open 2021: Novak Djokovic beats Tennys Sandgren in straight sets

French Open 2021: World No.1 Novak Djokovic vs Tennys Sandgren- Novak Djokovic commenced his campaign with a 6-2 6-4 6-2 win against American Tennys Sandgren

Djokovic is chasing a 19th major title and looking to narrow the gap to 20-time Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, displayed flashes of frustration in the second set but it never looked like a contest as Sandgren was never close.

Night school with Novak Djokovic 🌛 📝 💯

The 18x Grand Slam champion completes a 6-2 6-4 6-2 first-round win against Tennys Sandgren. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/fCIva8wXgD

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) June 1, 2021

Novak Djokovic’s Next Opponent

Djokovic will face Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas to enter a likely semi-final showdown with 13-time French Open champion Nadal.

“I‘m honored to be the first men’s match to play a Roland Garros night session. It was very interesting to say the least, I liked the conditions and the way I played, the way I moved, the way I felt, it worked out pretty well,” he told a courtside interviewer.

“Tennys played some good tennis. He challenged my serve, in the second set he had six breakpoints. But it was awfully quiet, with crowds it would have been the perfect scenario, perfect setting, but hopefully, this is the last match without a crowd for me in this tournament.“

Also Read: Australian Open 2022 will stay in Melbourne, says tournament director Craig Tiley

Men’s Singles Seeded Players

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal,Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, Gaël Monfils, Denis Shapovalov, Roberto Bautista Agut, David Goffin, Diego Schwartzman, Andrey Rublev, Fabio Fognini, Karen Khachanov, Stan Wawrinka, Pablo Carreño Busta, Grigor Dimitrov, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Cristian Garín, John Isner, Dušan Lajović, Benoît Paire, Borna Ćorić, Alex de Minaur, Filip Krajinović, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud,Hubert Hurkacz, Jan-Lennard Struff, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Dan Evans

Novak Djokovic vs Tennys Sandgren: What about prize money?

“With the prize money awarded at the 2021 tournament, Roland-Garros is continuing to support those players who are going through a difficult time, financially speaking,” stressed Roland-Garros tournament director Guy Forget. “Since we have balanced out the men’s and women’s qualifying draws, the male and female players are now on an equal footing.”

In 2021, the prize money will be “more or less the same as in 2020” with a total prize fund of €34,367,215.

Also Read: Italian Open 2021 Final: ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic to clinch 10th Italian Open title