PARIS -- This French Open came to a harrowing, heart-jarring stop late Thursday afternoon on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nine games into the second set, the hottest tennis player on the planet was lying prone in front of his changeover chair. Even after an ATP World Tour trainer worked on what appeared to be a strained right groin muscle, Novak Djokovic seemed tentative on court.
Ultimately, the No. 1 seed found an equilibrium and managed to dispatch Gilles Muller, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Afterward, Djokovic acknowledged that he felt pain when landing on his right leg but did not characterize how he believes the injury will affect him going forward.
"Thankfully, it's not anything major," Djokovic said later. "So it's not a concern for the next match. It wasn't pleasant. Heavier conditions made the court pretty wet, pretty slippery. Made a couple of slides that were unusual.
"It happened in those dynamic moments, jammed the hip a little bit. Going to be fine."
Earlier, No. 6-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced relatively easily, too. He methodically took apart Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.
If Nadal and Djokovic both win their next two matches, they would meet in a quarterfinal for the ages, with all kinds of history at stake. Through two matches, they are in lockstep; they've both won all six of the sets they've played, and Djokovic has lost 17 games, compared with 18 for Nadal.
"The score is easier than what the match was like," Nadal said of the 2-hour, 19-minute, match. "Very happy, I think I did a few things very well."
As, it should be stressed, did Djokovic.
He collected his 24th consecutive match victory and finds himself 37-2 for the year. After winning the Australian Open, Djokovic took all four of the ATP Masters 1000s in which he played, including the clay events in Monte Carlo and Rome.
Djokovic has a history of playing well early, but it hasn't translated into a trophy at the French Open, where he's a yawning 0-for-10.
Four years ago, Djokovic soared into Roland Garros with a perfect 36-0 record -- then crashed out in a semifinal loss to Roger Federer. It was the only major that eluded Djokovic that season, one of the greatest in tennis history.
Djokovic again won the Australian Open the next two years, but fell to Nadal here, in the 2012 final and the 2013 semifinals.
In 2014, it was more of the same. Djokovic won ATP Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Rome and entered the French Open with a 27-3 record. He lost to Rafa in the final.
This year, Djokovic is playing his best tennis coming into Paris since 2011.
So, why should we think there will be a different result this time around?
Because Djokovic says he's a better player than the one who went 70-6 and won 10 titles four years ago.
"I just feel more complete as a player in terms of ability to handle the emotions on the court, to find a way to win the tough matches," Djokovic said in his pre-tournament news conference. "Physically just matured. Just mentally knowing what to do, how to approach the big tournaments, big matches -- and how to keep that consistency going, not to have many ups and downs.
"So I like the player that I am today more than the one that I was in 2011, even though I had the best season of my career."
Djokovic needed only 106 minutes to eliminate Luxembourg's Muller, and he started to move with more freedom toward the end. On the second-to-last point, Djokovic made a lunging cross-court forehand that dropped in for a winner.
"There is always a little bit of extra motivation for me coming to Roland Garros," Djokovic said. "I'm here once again with a purpose, with a reason, and I will try to get myself in a position to win a trophy."