09. 11. 2011. ยท Photo: AP
Nole opened his 2011 BNP Paribas Masters campaign with a straight sets victory over Ivan Dodig of Croatia on Wednesday.
The top-seeded Djokovic, who captured the 2009 Paris title, needed 91 minutes to beat the world no.39, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the last 16 at the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season.
Nole had a break point in the eighth game of the opening set, but some great serving got Dodig out of trouble. The world no.1 earned three more opportunities in the tenth game and broke to love to take the set 6-4 in 40 minutes.
A break in the sixth game of the second set was enough for our champ to clinch the victory and move into the third round.
“I think I’ve served good enough, and I feel well enough to be competing from the back of the court. That’s what matters actually for this week. I really like playing in Bercy. I think it’s one of the most entertaining indoor tournaments, and people are coming in numbers here to watch matches,” said Djokovic.
“I want to compete, and that’s the reason I came here. It’s obvious that I’m still not at the top of my game, but I’m taking things quite slowly, step by step, knowing that the form will improve each day that I play.”
Novak did not face a single break point during the match. He capitalised on 2 of his 5 break point opportunities and extended his winning streak to 3-0 over Dodig.
The 24-year-old Belgrade native hit 26 winners, won 90% of his first service points and improved to a 68-4 season record.
Nole will next face his friend and compatriot no.15 seed Viktor Troicki who beat world no.63 Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4, 6-4.
They have played ten times, Nole leads 9-1. The pair last met in Miami 2011 when the Serbian no.1 won 6-3, 6-2.
The third round encounter is scheduled on Thursday.
