Below par Djokovic struggles through

Third seed Novak Djokovic was nowhere near his best as he laboured to a four-set win over Denis Gremelmayr in the first round of the French Open on Sunday.

The Serbian looks to be the only player capable of breaking the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal duopoly of men’s tennis but lacked fluency in his 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-2 victory on the Philippe Chatrier court.

Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, fell 4-0 behind to his German opponent in the first set, which he went on to lose.

He improved slightly thereafter but made a host of unforced errors which exasperated him on a number of occasions.

The 21-year-old set up a second-round tussle with Spain’s Miguel Angel Lopez Jaen, who defeated Frank Dancevic in four sets on the opening day in Paris.

Earlier, dark horses James Blake and David Nalbandian had a much easier time of it in their first-round matches.

Seventh seed Blake, from the United States, was a comfortable 6-4 6-1 7-6 (7/3) winner over Germany’s Rainer Schuttler on Court One.

Blake will play either Ernests Gulbis or Simon Greul next as he embarks on a bid to progress past the third round in Paris for the first time.

Nalbandian, the sixth seed, also showed no mercy as he swept past fellow Argentinian Carlos Berlocq 6-2 6-4 6-1 on the Suzanne Lenglen court.

Nalbandian, twice a semi-finalist here, needed less than two hours to complete the win and set up a second-round clash against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who beat Frederico Gil in three sets.

Unseeded Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro was another winner on the opening day, defeating Josselin Ouanna in straight sets.