PARIS—There was, for a minute, a flicker of suspense inside Court Philippe Chatrier this afternoon. There had been some excitement to start, as this was kids’ day at Roland Garros, and they were ready for a live viewing of the sport’s latest hero, Novak Djokovic. But while they knew they would get to see a star, not many of the people who jammed the arena’s upper reaches—like Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows, the lower seats here are usually expensively empty—actually believed they would see a match today as well.
But Victor Hanescu, while he is something less than explosive, either as player or personality, is a plugger, a guy with a nice one-hander who can also hit a forehand winner when it’s hanging there in front of him and hold serve long enough to occasionally put something close to a scare into a top player. Which is what he did for the better part of a set against Djokovic today.
The Serb held without much trouble through the first, and his serve and forehand looked as reliable as they have for months now. But a few returns floated long, and Hanescu used his serve to control enough rallies to stay even until 4-4. It looked like he was going to get to 5-5 for a second, as he held game point again. There was even a flicker of frustration from Djokovic after he netted a forehand at deuce in that game. But where that frustration might have led to another lost point in the past, this time Djokovic settled back in and broke. He was also helped by some untimely errors from Hanescu, but that’s all part of the champion’s dividend, the aura that becomes part of your arsenal just like your serve or forehand.
Not long after, it was 41 in a row for Djokovic. Forty-two shouldn't be as easy; Djokovic will almost certainly get a more significant test from Juan Martin del Potro in the next round on Friday. The Argentine looked solid all around today, and patient enough to come back from a break down and finish his match in three. Still, Djokovic has never lost to del Potro, and he’ll have the advantage in confidence even if he gets behind.
Who knows, maybe he won't even need to make a comeback. Today Djokovic cruised through the last two sets so convincingly that, even though he was leading 3-2 in the third, on serve, Hanescu retired with an injury. Call it the ultimate sign that your opponents don’t believe they can beat you: They quit while they're ahead.
—Steve Tignor