Novak Djokovic returned to the ATP Tour after his historic triumph in Melbourne by beginning a bid for his 50th title with a surprisingly testing 6-4, 6-4 win over Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
The world No. 1 was twice within a point of going 2-4 down in the second set against an opponent, ranked 63rd in the world, who hit freely, motivated by the chance of troubling someone who last month became the first man of the Open era to win the Australian Open five times.
Djokovic also hopes to win his fifth title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which would put him just one behind Roger Federer’s record, and might ultimately benefit from the difficulties that Pospisil boldly imposed on him.
Photo: Reuters
It was not until the ninth game that Djokovic could break serve, and only then with the help of a Pospisil double fault, and when Djokovic broke early in the second set, Pospisil broke back immediately.
He did that with a dashing combination of attacks that had even the champion applauding.
However, Djokovic said he knew how to win.
Photo: EPA
“I just stayed mentally tough and stayed in the rallies. Once I got into the rallies I had better chance,” Djokovic said. “He’s a very flashy player and serves well, and when there was a 15 percent drop in his first serve I knew I had a better chance. I think that decided the match.”
Djokovic has more than half an eye on the French Open — the only Grand Slam title he has never won — even at this stage, three months before it begins. He was therefore prepared, a little surprisingly, to comment on the fitness worries of Rafael Nadal, the nine-time French Open winner.
“He had a couple of big injuries that kept him away from the Tour for six months plus,” Djokovic said when told of Nadal’s claims that he is not in great shape. “If he’s going to play as well as he did in previous years now in the clay-court season or hard-court, we don’t know. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. Obviously he didn’t play at the level, you know, that is recognizable for him in Australia.”
Another distraction for Djokovic is thinking about the 50th title of his career. However, when he was told that this would take him past the 49 career titles achieved by his coach Boris Becker, the temptation was briefly too much.
“I received that information and that’s why I have motivation more this week,” Djokovic responded amid laughter.
The man whom Djokovic beat in the Melbourne final, Andy Murray, also came through. Murray celebrated his rise above Rafael Nadal into third place in the world rankings with a checkered straight-sets win over Gilles Muller.
The Scot’s 6-4, 7-5 win over the Luxemburger illustrated how far the former Wimbledon and US Open champion has come in the one year since returning to the tour after a serious back operation.
It also showed that Murray’s return of serve and his trademark containing ground strokes — almost always the bedrock of his game — were in good order and suggested he has a solid basis from which to build his form over the week.
“Mentally I feel completely different, both in my body and in my mind, though there are still things I can do better,” he said. “Last year, even if I was playing well I was doubting a lot of things: confidence in my body and in my game. Even if I was playing well I didn’t feel like I was. I feel much better at this stage than I did last year.”
He faces Joao Sousa, the world No. 50 from Portugal, with a seed-free route to the semi-final after Marcos Baghdatis, the former Australian Open finalist from Cyprus, overcame David Goffin, the No. 8 from Belgium, 6-2, 7-5.
Djokovic faces Andrey Golubev, a former top-40 player from Kazakhstan.
Argentina Open
Sixth-seeded Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic was knocked out in the first round of the Argentina Open on Tuesday, beaten by Blaz Rola of Slovenia 6-4, 6-3.
No. 8 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain retired due to injury while trailing 7-6 (7/2), 3-0, with Federeico Delbonis of Argentina progressing in the outdoor clay event.
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal was to play yesterday against Facundo Arguello of Argentina, who beat Albert Montanes of Spain 6-3, 6-2. Nadal lost last week in the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro. He has failed to make a final in three events this season.
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