Djokovic downs Lu, reach round two

PARIS: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic began his pursuit of the only grand slam title missing from his collection with a no-nonsense 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win over Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun in the French Open first round on Tuesday.

The Serbian top seed now stands only six matches away from becoming the first man in almost 50 years to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time.

Looking to achieve a feat that was last achieved by Rod Laver in 1969, the 11-times major champion appeared to be a in a hurry to escape the cold and dank confines of Philippe Chatrier Court.

In fact, facing an opponent who had not played a top tier match since last October, Djokovic’s only blip was when he dropped serve in the eighth game of the opening set.

But having levelled for 4-4, the wheels came off for Lu and the 32-year-old only won two more games before Djokovic safely secured a second-round clash with Belgian Steve Darcis.