Roland Garros Monday Diary

© Getty ImagesNovak Djokovic is breathing easier in Paris.

All-Clear For Novak: Temperatures may have soared on court at Roland Garros Monday, but the hot, clean air was just fine with third seed Novak Djokovic, who advanced to the second round with a four-set win over Ernests Gulbis. Djokovic had battled severe allergies in the lead-up to the year’s second Grand Slam but has found conditions much more to his liking in Paris. 

“This year has been a struggle for me because it was the first time that I had such a strong reaction,” said Djokovic, who as an outside chance of claiming the No. 1 South African Airways ATP Ranking if he wins the Roland Garros title. “The start of the season… you couldn't do too much [about] it. It's still a little bit active, but it's much less than it was in last two months. So I'm happy that the tough period is behind me... For next year I will prepare myself better health wise.”

Stat Of The Day: 71 games played in an epic first-round battle that concluded Monday between Slovakian Lukas Lacko and American qualifier Michael Yani. Suspended due to darkness on Sunday night, the match resumed Monday at 8-all in the fifth set and it was Lacko who held his nerve to win  4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 12-10 in 4 hrs., 56 mins. after breaking Yani for the first time in the second to last game of the match. The 71-game marathon tied a record for most games played at Roland Garros since the tie-break was introduced in 1973. The match comprised 483 points, with Lacko pipping Yani 244 points to 239. Both players failed to take advantage of break point opportunities, with Yani converting one of 15 chances and Lacko one of 13.

Upset Of The Day: Serb Viktor Troicki, who had not been beyond the second round in two prior appearance at Roland Garros, scored a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 21 seed and four-time quarter-finalist Tommy Robredo. The Spaniard, who owns eight career clay titles, had never fallen before the third round at Roland Garros in nine previous appearances.

Five-set Fightbacks: Andy Murray was one of three players to rally from two sets down Monday to reach the second round. The Scot, who has now come from two sets down to win four times in his career, defeated newly minted Nice champion Richard Gasquet 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Two years ago Murray also came from two sets down to beat Gasquet at Wimbledon. Big-serving Australian Carsten Ball fired 14 aces in a 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5, 9-7 win over German Philipp Petzschner. Despite converting just three of 16 break point chances, Japan’s Kei Nishikori defeated Colombian Santiago Giraldo 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(3) 6-2, 6-4.

Dmitry Defeated: Dmitry Tursunov made his long-awaited comeback from injury Monday in Paris, but his return was short-lived. The Russian blogging master clawed just three games in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 loss to Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in a rapid-fire 78 minutes. It was Tursunov’s first tournament appearance since last year’s US Open. He underwent ankle surgery last September and again in February.

Serving Up A Storm: In-form American giant John Isner lost just nine points on serve in a commanding 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev. The 6’ 9” Isner won 12 of 13 points on his second serve and hit eight aces. While much has been made of Amercia’s lack of success on clay, Isner (who recently finished runner-up to countryman Sam Querrey on clay in Belgrade) said that his height gives him a natural advantage on the surface. “The guy I played today, he hit some balls that were good shots, but I found them right in my strike zone, you know, shoulder high. That's where I want it. So I was able to kind of get down on the ball. I enjoy playing on the clay.”

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