World no.1 and top seed Novak Djokovic successfully started his 2015 season in singles on Tuesday with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over Dusan Lajovic (68) at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Novak broke five times from six opportunities and saved three of four break points he faced during the 58-minute encounter.
“It feels good, better than I thought it would feel a few days ago,” said Djokovic of the illness that forced him to withdraw from last week’s Abu Dhabi exhibition final. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to play in this tournament, so I’m really glad I came to Doha for the first time and managed to get on the court and play.”
Match statistics: aces (3-0), double faults (2-2), winners (26-8), unforced errors (24-22), total points won (57-36).
Novak will meet world no.57 Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine for a place in the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 250 event in Doha.
The 27-year-old Belgrade native leads their H2H 3-0.
Photo: AP
