PARIS - Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic overcame a second-set blip to beat Kazakhstan's Evgeny Korolev 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-3 in their first-round match at the French Open at Roland Garros yesterday.

PARIS - Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic overcame a second-set blip to beat Kazakhstan's Evgeny Korolev 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-3 in their first-round match at the French Open at Roland Garros yesterday.

The 2008 Australian Open champion was a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2007 and 2008.

Yesterday Djokovic sewed up the first set in 27 minutes as his misfiring opponent managed to land just 29percent of his first serves in the service box.

The Kazakh put up much stiffer resistance in the second set, breaking straight back after Djokovic had broken him and then breaking again to go 5-3 up before converting his first set point.

Rattled, the Serbian world No 3 stormed into a 5-0 lead in the third set inside 20 minutes en route to restoring his one-set advantage and he was swiftly 3-1 up in the fourth set thanks to an early break. - Sapa-AFP