BNP Paribas Masters defending champion Novak Djokovic recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win over world no.24 Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday for a place in the third round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.
The reigning Wimbledon titlist improved to a 53-8 record this year beating the German in one hour and 24 minutes, widening their career H2H to 6-1.
It was Novak’s first match since becoming a father of a baby boy named Stefan.
The top seed who won the tournament in 2009 (d. Monfils) and 2013 (d. Ferrer), raced to a 5-1 lead with a double break. He had his serve broken while serving for set, but closed it out successfully two games later.
A break in the opening game of the second set was enough for Nole to progress into the last 16.
“It feels great!,” Djokovic said. “I’m trying to take as much positive energy as I can from what’s happened in the past few weeks. I’m very proud to be a father and I’m very proud of my wife for handling the birth in a great way. She’s back home recovering now, with our little boy. This was my first match as a father and it can only inspire me to play my best tennis.”
Match statistics: aces (3-2), double faults (1-0), winners (23-14), unforced errors (20-22), total points won (66-54).
Novak faces ATP no.21 Gael Monfils on Thursday at 21.00 CET (10-0 H2H record). The Frenchman beat 13th-seeded American John Isner in straight sets (6-4, 7-6).
Photo: Getty Images
