For the second consecutive match, Novak Djokovic dominated his opponent. This team, he defeated 32-year-old Steve Darcis, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic gets vital break late in the match
There was a bit of a shock in the opening set of the match. Darcis lost his first service game and Djokovic raced out to a 2-0 lead. In the third game, Djokovic consolidated his break after a ton of work. Djokovic fell behind three times during that game and faced a break point at 30-40. Then, the two endured multiple deuces, with Djokovic finally claiming victory after the third deuce.
The surprise came in the fifth game. Djokovic was not able to win his service game. He lost it fairly easily too, losing three consecutive points after gaining a 15-0 advantage. There was one more break and it came at the most inopportune time. Once more, Darcis put up a fight. There were two times where Darcis could have lost the set, but he battled back until the fourth deuce when Djokovic finally went 1-0 up.
World's number one does not falter in the second set
The second set in the match went much smoother for Novak Djokovic. He sailed smoothly through the opening four service games dropping no more than two points throughout. Along the way, Djokovic managed to break Darcis again, this time in the second game. He opened up a 15-30 before winning the last two points of the game.
Novak Djokovic and Steve Darcis fought again in the ninth game of the second set. Djokovic was on serve and about to take a 2-0 lead over Darcis, but the Belgian made Djokovic sweat. Djokovic had an opportunity at 40-30 to claim set number two, but failed to do so. It would take two more tries before the world's number one claimed the second.
Two breaks good enough for Djokovic to claim victory
In the final set, Djokovic was not as confident on serve as the middle set. Djokovic did break Darcis on the opening service game and consolidated in the following game. However, in the third, Djokovic was broken again. It is a rare feat to break Djokovic, but to break him at 0-40, is even more rare. But that is what Darcis did and he got back on serve.
Djokovic nearly won the match in the ninth game as he made Darcis work to hold serve. The Serbian was up 40-30 but Darcis worked his way back into the game and eventually made it 5-4. That would be all Darcis could get as Djokovic won his last service game to clinch the 3-0 win.
Coming up
Novak Djokovic should be able to cruise easily into the fourth round of the French Open. He will face off with Slovenian Aljaž Bedene.