Djokovic opens French quest with comfortable win

Serbia's second seed Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a maiden French Open title on Monday with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 first round win over Portugal's Joao Sousa.

The six-time Grand Slam winner is only missing the Roland Garros title to complete his set of all four majors and began in style with a confident showing on the Philippe Chatrier centre court.

During a match interrupted by rain, the 27-year-old Belgrade native was at his charismatic best on and off the court as he even had time to chat extensively with a ball boy during a brief rain delay. He offered the young lad a drink and clinked bottles with him as the crowd roared their approval.

On the court, Sousa, ranked 42 in the world and a French Open best of reaching the second round last year, was outclassed by Djokovic's all round game.

The Serb, who is coming off a stellar showing in Rome where he defeated Rafael Nadal, following earlier victories in 2014 at Indian Wells and Miami, converted eight of 15 break points.

He also rained down eight aces behind a first serve percentage of just under 70% in a match that lasted 1hr 46 minutes.

The former world number one now faces French hope Jeremy Chardy for a place in the last 32.