PARIS, May 23 -- The world No. 2 Novak Djokovic and the 16-time Grand Slam title winner Roger Federer both won the first round comfortably at the French Open on Monday.
Serbian star Djokovic only needed one and a half hour to overcome Thiemo De Bakker 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 before the third seed Federer of Switzerland knocked out Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6- 4 and 7-6 (3) at the Philippe Chatrier court.
"I was serving really, really well and being very aggressive, using every opportunity to step into the court. I was quite in control of the match," said 24-year-old Djokovic, who extended his winning streak to 40 matches since the Davis Cup final at the end of last year.
With seven titles this season and more expectations on him, Djokovic admitted that the pressure was always there.
"Over the years you learn how to deal with it, and you have this necessary experience that you're implementing after in your game, in your life," said Djokovic. "I know there is a lot of expectations because of the streak I have, but I'm really happy the way I'm handling things right now on and off the court."
After ending each season ranked No. 3 in the world behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for four years, Djokovic finally took over the Swiss legend with stunning performances this season. But Federer, 29, is hoping that the position with less attention could bring him something good.
With a solid win over Lopez, who lost to him in all of the previous eight clashes, Federer said he was satisfied with his first match.
"I feel relieved when I look at the score or the match after playing three tiebreaks in Madrid against him," said Federer.
Federer is going to play qualifier Stephane Robert from France who came from two sets down to edge out the sixth seed Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 9-7.