French Open defending champion Novak Djokovic really seems to be getting back to his best now that he has Andre Agassi by his side. The former world number 1 reached the semi-finals and the finals at the Madrid Open and the Rome Masters since parting ways with his coaches and now, he is up against Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas as he looks to defend his crown.
Djokovic has not had the best of years so far. The Serb has won only one tournament which was at the start of the year when he defeated Andy Murray to win the Qatar Open. He eased past Marcel Granollers and Joao Sousa in the first two rounds winning both matches in straight sets, but he was really pushed to the limit against Diego Schwartzman.
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After going down in the first set, the Serb came back strong to win the second set, but Schwartzman once against proved to be too good for the Serb in the third set. At one point it looked like Djokovic was set for an early exit once again, but he played some amazing tennis in the final two sets to win 6-1, 6-1 to make it to the next round.
It's clear that Agassi and Djokovic still have a lot of work to do together and he still needs to improve if he is to win the tournament. More importantly, he needs to up his game for his match against Ramos-Vinolas who has been pretty decent so far in 2017.
The Spaniard might not have won any trophies in 2017 so far, but he has made two final appearances at the Brazil Open and the Monte Carlo Masters, and two semi-finals appearances at the Ecuador Open and the Rio Open.
While everyone might be expecting Djokovic to ease past the Spaniard, he might prove to be a tougher opponent for the Serb than some people might give him credit for.
Ramos-Vinolas has not had any top level opponents so far, but he has been pushed to the limit in his first three matches. After losing the first set to Marius Copil, he bounced back to win the next three sets and then defeated Benjamin Bonzi in the next round and like Djokovic, he could have also been eliminated in the third round.
He was up against Lucas Pouille and after dominating the first set, the Frenchman won the next two sets and it looked like this would be the end of Ramos-Vinolas, but the Spaniard fought hard and dominated the final two sets to set up this clash with Djokovic.
In their head-to-head meetings, Djokovic has a 3-0 lead over the Spaniard and has not yet dropped a set against him. His first win came at the Indian Wells in 2015, then in Monte Carlo and then at the Davis Cup earlier in the year. So on paper, the Serb is expected to make it to the next round, but don't rule Ramos-Vinolas out just yet.
Where to watch
The French Open match between Novak Djokovic and Albert Ramos-Vinolas is set to start tentatively at 3:30 pm local time, 7.00 pm IST and 2:30 pm BST.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Star Sports Select HD1 and Star Sports Select HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: ITV. Live Streaming: ITV Hub.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
USA: TV: Tennis TV and NBC Sports. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live Extra.
Canada: TV: TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Europe: TV: EuroSport. Live Streaming: EuroSport Player.
