World no.1 Novak Djokovic won his opening match at the BNP Paribas Open in three sets on Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The two-time former champion needed one hour and 49 minutes to record a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Fabio Fognini and reach the third round of the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in 2013.
Novak stormed through the first set with a triple break for convincing 6-0.
He broke Fognini in the sixth game of the second set for 4-2 lead, but the Italian fought back immediately and held to level the result to 4-4. The Belgrade native earned a break/match point in the tenth game, but Fognini saved it with a great serve and a forehand winner. Djokovic lost his momentum and let the world no.36 break him for the second time and take the set 7-5.
After dropping the second set, Nole again took hold of the match, breaking Fognini twice in the deciding third set to seal the win and improve his season match record to 14-0.
“It was definitely a difficult challenge today,” Novak said. “It’s the first match in the tournament. I started really good and I felt great, everything worked well. But then I had a very bad game on 4-2, a couple of unforced errors, got him back in the match. I’m not concerned. I have been in this situation before where I had minor setbacks in a match, especially in the opening matches where I’m trying to get used to the court, the conditions… In the end, I have done what I needed to do. The W is there, so I feel good about myself.”
Match statistics: aces (6-1), double faults (1-4), winners (22-13), unforced errors (33-43).
Novak will next face no.31 seed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (Tuesday about 15.00 local time / 23.00 CET) who knocked out Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic won their only previous encounter in the second round of the 2012 Shanghai Rolex Masters 6-3, 6-2.
The 25-year-old Serbian is seeking his third trophy of the year, having triumphed at the Australian Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Photo: WireImage
