Second seed and three-time reigning champion (four overall) Novak Djokovic advanced to the second round of the 2014 Australian Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-1 victory over Lukas Lacko of Slovakia on Monday.
The 26-year old, who became the first man in the Open era to land a hat-trick of AO crowns last year, hit 40 winners and committed 30 unforced errors during the match that lasted one hour and 50 minutes.
Players traded breaks in the opening set before Novak made his second to take it 6-3.
The second set was a tightly-contested affair which ended in a tie-break. The Serbian star won it 7-2.
Nole made a double break in the third set for 5-1 lead. He ended the match with an ace, sealing his 22nd straight win at Melbourne Park.
“It’s a great pleasure to be back on this court,” Djokovic said in his post match interview. “I was happy with my concentration. Physically I feel great. I know that I haven’t played my best, especially in the second set. But, credit to my opponent who was playing really nice tennis from the baseline. I won many easy points with the first serves and had a high percentage of the first serves in. That’s something that makes me very encouraged for this tournament and for every next match.”
Match statistics: aces (10-5), double faults (0-1), total points won (101-70).
Novak will next meet ATP no.98, Leonardo Mayer (ARG), who beat Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.
It will be their first career encounter.
Photo: AP
