World no.1 Novak Djokovic opened his Rogers Cup presented by National Bank campaign with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Thomaz Bellucci on Tuesday night to reach the last 16 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Montreal.
In his first singles match since winning Wimbledon, the top seed clinched the 52-minute first set 6-3, having broken the Brazilian’s serve in the eighth game. He won the second set tie-breaker 7-4, improving to a perfect 4-0 H2H mark with Bellucci and sealing his 250th Masters 1000 triumph (third place in the all-time list, behind Federer and Nadal).
Djokovic won 77% of points on his first serve and was 20/24 on net approaches. The three-time former champion (2007, 2011, 2012) saved all five break points he faced during the one-hour, 50-minute clash.
“Credit to him for playing some really solid, resilient tennis, getting a lot of balls back, serving well,” said Novak. “He’s an all-round player, I think he’s improved over the years. It’s the first hard-court match for me since Miami earlier this year. It takes a little bit of time to get into the rhythm. I think tomorrow’s doubles match will also help me work on certain aspects of my game and get ready for the next one.”
Match statistics: aces (3-5), double faults (1-0), winners (27-14), unforced errors (31-28), total points won (87-73).
Novak will play against world no.35 Jack Sock on Thursday. The American upset no.14 seed Grigor Dimitrov in three sets (5-7, 7-6, 7-5).
Djokovic and Sock have never met before.
The 28-year-old Serb has won 49 of 52 matches in 2015, collecting the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, finishing runner-up at the French Open and winning every Masters tournament he has played so far this season (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome).
