Novak Djokovic Cruises Past Pablo Cuevas, Advances to 2021 French Open 3rd Round

Novak Djokovic breezed through to the third round of the 2021 French Open with a straight-sets victory (6-3, 6-2, 6-4) over Pablo Cuevas at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.

Djokovic, who captured his only French Open title in 2016, has showcased strong form in the early going by winning six straight sets to open the season's second Grand Slam tournament. He recorded 32 winners and 10 aces in Thursday's second-round win.

The No. 1 seed in the men's draw advances to face Ricardas Berankis in Round 3.

Djokovic got off to a sluggish start to the clay-court season with losses to Daniel Evans in the Monte Carlo Masters Round of 16 and Aslan Karatsev in the Serbia Open semifinals. He rebounded to reach the Rome Masters final—losing to Rafael Nadal—and went on to win the Belgrade Open title.

The 18-time major champion has looked primed for a deep run during his first two matches in Paris.

He dropped just eight games in his victory over Tennys Sandgren in the opening round, tallying 33 winners and securing five service breaks to move through in under two hours.

It was more of the same type of efficiency from the 34-year-old Serbian against Cuevas.

Djokovic was in total control for virtually the entire match. He won 69 percent of the points on his serve, 45 percent of points on return and converted five of his eight break opportunities to advance.

"He has a lot of power and spin on both the forehand and backhand, but I stayed focused and I think the third set was really difficult for me," Djokovic said. "I raised my game. I stayed focused; I found my serve when it was important."

For his part, Cuevas didn't play poorly against the top-ranked player in the world. The 35-year-old Uruguayan journeyman recorded more winners (31) than unforced errors (26) and generated nine break chances. He only converted one, though, which halted any thought of a serious upset bid.

Djokovic will once again be a heavy favorite in the third round. He's won all three of his prior meetings with Berankis, 30, without dropping a set. That includes a dominant 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over the Lithuania native in last year's French Open.

The road figures to get more difficult for Djokovic, however, with Nadal and Roger Federer among the marquee names on his half of the bracket.