World No.1 Novak Djokovic qualified for the third round of the Masters 1000 in Rome by dominating Frenchman Corentin Moutet, 83rd in the ATP rankings, 6-3, 6-1 on Friday.
Djokovic, who skipped the Masters 1000 in Madrid, was left with a defeat in the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Serb had a tricky start, particularly on his throw-in and was broken on his first service game. Trailing 3-1, he then won five games in a row to finish the first round in 44 minutes.
Moutet, a controversial personality on the circuit with a volcanic temperament, lost track of his match when changing sides after the seventh game: he had a lively exchange with the referee who asked him to reposition a net protection which, frustrated, he had thrown to the ground when returning to his chair.
He briefly found a smile again when his cell phone rang as he was about to serve. He went to put it out to the applause of the audience and under the amused gaze of Djokovic. The Serb, six-time winner of the Roman tournament, the last in 2022, left only one game to his discouraged opponent in the second round.
Moutet, beaten in the 2nd round of qualifying, joined the main draw after the withdrawal of the Swiss Stan Wawrinka with the status of lucky-loser. In the next round, Djokovic, in search of his first title of the year, will face the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, 32nd in the world and winner in Auckland of his first ATP tournament.
