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Novak Djokovic cruises into French Open second round in first Grand Slam match since US Open default

AP
AP

Novak Djokovic made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis with a routine victory over Mikael Ymer in the first round of the French Open.

The world number one was disqualified from the US Open earlier this month after striking a ball which hit a line judge during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta.

But the Serbian looked in fine form as the 33-year-old got his quest for an 18th Grand Slam title on track with a 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Ymer.

Djokovic breezed through the first set took in just 20 minutes as Ymer struggled to even lay a glove on the 2016 champion, who secured a bagel in the opener.

While Djokovic did drop serve early in the second set when an attempted drop shot fell short, there was no tetchy response this time.

The Serb then led the applause for Ymer when the 22-year-old ran back to retrieve a lob-volley and played a showreel 'tweener in the sixth game.

But it was one-way traffic as Djokovic polished off the second set with his trademark clean hitting.

The 80th-ranked Ymer, facing a world number one for the first time, stuck manfully to his task in the third set and Djokovic became a little sloppy as he handed back a service break with a double-fault after which he flexed his hand.

Djokovic brushed off a distraction from a spectator in the crowd to reel off the last three games for victory and set up a clash with Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis, who beat Hugo Dellien.

Additional reporting from Reuters

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