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PARIS (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic scorched his way into the French Open second round with a 6-2 6-1 6-3 rout of Thiemo De Bakker on Monday as his red-hot streak showed no signs of burning out in warm sunshine.
The Serbian, who has never gone beyond the last four on the Roland Garros clay, barely broke sweat in dismissing Dutchman De Bakker.
His 38th straight win since the start of the season and 40th in all was such a formality that his beautifully ironed all-white kit failed to even crease.
"It was a great first match for me at Roland Garros," Djokovic, who celebrated his 24th birthday at the Serbian embassy on Sunday, told a news conference.
"I was serving, really, really serving and being very aggressive. Pressure is always there, over the years you learn how to deal with it.
"I know there is a lot of expectation because of the streak I have but I'm really happy the way I'm handling things right now on and off the court."
Having beaten holder and king of clay Rafa Nadal in finals on the red stuff in Madrid and Rome already this year, Australian Open champion Djokovic is many punters' tip for his first Roland Garros title on June 5.
De Bakker, the world number 71, had one break point late in the second set but what he thought was a booming winner turned out to be just over the line.
It was his only chance of making any impression against a man threatening to rip up John McEnroe's record of 42 consecutive wins at the start of a year.
Djokovic, who has attributed his sensational form partly to a new, gluten-free diet, broke as soon as he could in the first two sets and barely got out of second gear with his groundstrokes, movement and net play equally assured.
"Unfortunately I can't talk about it too much. it's private," Djokovic said when asked about his new eating regime which has helped to rid him of summer bugs he used to pick up.
"There is gluten-free pizza, but not many people make it."
(Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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The Serbian, who has never gone beyond the last four on the Roland Garros clay, barely broke sweat in dismissing Dutchman De Bakker.
His 38th straight win since the start of the season and 40th in all was such a formality that his beautifully ironed all-white kit failed to even crease.
"It was a great first match for me at Roland Garros," Djokovic, who celebrated his 24th birthday at the Serbian embassy on Sunday, told a news conference.
"I was serving, really, really serving and being very aggressive. Pressure is always there, over the years you learn how to deal with it.
"I know there is a lot of expectation because of the streak I have but I'm really happy the way I'm handling things right now on and off the court."
Having beaten holder and king of clay Rafa Nadal in finals on the red stuff in Madrid and Rome already this year, Australian Open champion Djokovic is many punters' tip for his first Roland Garros title on June 5.
De Bakker, the world number 71, had one break point late in the second set but what he thought was a booming winner turned out to be just over the line.
It was his only chance of making any impression against a man threatening to rip up John McEnroe's record of 42 consecutive wins at the start of a year.
Djokovic, who has attributed his sensational form partly to a new, gluten-free diet, broke as soon as he could in the first two sets and barely got out of second gear with his groundstrokes, movement and net play equally assured.
"Unfortunately I can't talk about it too much. it's private," Djokovic said when asked about his new eating regime which has helped to rid him of summer bugs he used to pick up.
"There is gluten-free pizza, but not many people make it."
(Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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