"I've never seen him play before today, and it's always difficult to face an opponent you don't know," said the Serb.
Great favorite for a third title on Monegasque clay in the absence of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, he will face Lorenzo Musetti (21st) or Luca Nardi (159th) for a place in the quarters.
Prevented from participating in the spring tour in the United States for lack of covid vaccine, the co-holder with Nadal of the record of 22 Grand Slam titles ended the course of the amazing Gakhov, passed through the qualifications and winner of Mackenzie McDonald (52nd) in the first round.
But the game was not as easy as expected.
It was Gakhov who was the first to be dangerous by managing the first break of the match to lead 4-3. Stung to the quick, Djokovic broke immediately, but could not prevent the set from ending in the tie break where he concluded on his first ball of the set.
The second set was one-sided even though Gakhov hung on until the end.
"I didn't play well in the first set whereas he did. In the second, I raised my level of play," said Djokovic, who committed a lot of direct faults in the first set.
Double winner at Roland-Garros, he also has only two titles in the Principality (2013 and 2015) out of the record of 38 won on all Masters 1000.
© 2023 AFP