Djokovic dominates in opener

PARIS — Novak Djokovic’s backhand clipped the net and landed wide, so he shook his head.

Thatwas it.

Later, a too-soft drop shot found the white tape and bounced back on his ownside, finally ceding a game in a dominant opener at the 2020 French Open. Djokovic simply bowed and walked to the sideline.

And when he flubbed yet another drop shot — he kept using them on the slow red clay during a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win over 80th-ranked Mikael Ymer — and got broken Tuesday, Djokovic pulled an extra tennis ball out of his pocket and merely gave it a gentle tap with his racket strings.

The ball landed right behind him, safely in the middle of the court.

Playing his first Grand Slam match since his U.S. Open disqualification for smacking a ball after dropping a game and accidentally striking a line judge in throat, Djokovic never really gave himself reason for histrionics or shouts of dismay or displays of anger.

But otherwise, whatwas there for Djokovic to be disturbed about?

“I just felt very suffocated out there. It’s just corner, corner; very, very rarely miss. His position is unreal in the court,” Ymer explained.

“You know how the snake kills its prey?” Ymer said, pantomiming a boa constrictor’s attack by bringing his arms around and putting his hands together. “That’s a little bit how I felt being out there.”

Ymer said he didn’t pay any attention to Djokovic’s mood.

And the top-seeded Djokovic, for his part, said that what happened in Flushing Meadows was of no concern to him, either, as he began his pursuit of a second title at Roland Garros and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall.

In the women’s draw, 17-year-old Clara Tauson of Denmark was able to earn her first tour-level win by knocking off U.S. Open semifinalist and No. 21 seed Jennifer Brady 6-4, 3-6, 9-7.