Four-time former champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev.
The 27-year-old Serb claimed his 11th win of the season in just one hour.
Djokovic broke twice in each set, won 76% of his first service points and was 8/8 on net approaches. He didn’t face a single break point during the fourth career encounter against Golubev (4-0).
“Having one match under my belt before today’s encounter helped me to feel a bit more comfortable to move quicker around on the court,” said Novak. “It was just a much better performance than yesterday. Hopefully I can improve as the tournament progresses.”
Match statistics: aces (2-2), double faults (0-1), winners (17-6), unforced errors (25-39), total points won (58-34).
Novak goes on to face qualifier from Turkey, world no.104 Marsel Ilhan, who eliminated sixth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez (3-6, 7-5, 6-3).
It will be the first career meeting between the two.
The top seed is playing in Dubai for the ninth time (32-4 record). He is bidding to win his 50th tour-level title this week.
Photo: Getty Images
