2011 Australian Open: Novak Djokovic dismisses Ivan Dodig to move into Round 3
2008 titlist Novak Djokovic won his second round clash at the Australian Open going one-step further in his attempt to recapture the title.
Having debuted in 2005, Djokovic made it all the way to the final of the event in 2008 when he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to clinch his first and so far the only Grand Slam title. In 2010, his run at the event was stopped short at the quarterfinals by Tsonga.
Returning to the event for the seventh straight year, third seeded Djokovic kicked off his title run playing Marcel Granollers on Monday, 17 January. Djokovic dismissed Granollers in about 90 minutes securing a 6-3 victory sandwiched between two breadstick wins. The score line read 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 at the end of the match.
Moving ahead in the event, Djokovic was pitted against Croat Ivan Dodig. Doing away with his compatriot, Ivo Karlovic after a hard fought five-setter, Dodig moved ahead in the event.
Meeting for the second time on the courts, Djokovic extended his career head-to-head lead to 2-0 after a four set win over the Croat.
Right from the onset, the players were locked in a neck-to-neck run determined to take the lead. Catching a break in the 11th game, Djokovic was able to clinch a 7-5 victory. However, the Serb could not maintain his form and lost the next set in a tiebreaker, 8-10. Bouncing back in the third set, Djokovic rushed into the lead and secured a bagel set win before wrapping up the match with a 6-2 win in the fourth set.
After winning the match, Djokovic said, “The positive thing about this match is [that] I was challenged, pushed to the limits in the first two sets and stayed around three, three-and-a-half hours on the court. I'm not physically tired. Today in the first two sets I wasn't happy with the way I was playing, but in the third and fourth [sets] it was okay."
Joining the third seed in the second round draw is eighth seed, Andy Roddick, who moved ahead in the main draw after doing away with Jan Hajek in straight sets. Entering the second round, Roddick drew against Igor Kunitsyn.
Opening serve, Roddick survived an early scare when Kunitsyn led the score 5-3 at one point. Fighting back from that point, Roddick forced the set into a tiebreaker before clinching it 9-7. The hard-hitting American sailed through the next two rounds, prevailing 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-3.
Roddick now moves into the next round to play Robin Haase, the latter moving ahead after upsetting 26th seed Juan Monaco in a four set win.
Also making his way into the third round is 12th seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils. After defeating Thiemo de Bakker in a hard fought five-setter, Monfils was able to secure a spot for himself in the second round where he met Frederico Gil.
Meeting for the first time on the courts, Monfils was able to rush into a 2-0 set score lead before suffering a breadstick loss in the third set. However, he bounced back in the fourth set to clinch a 6-2 win. Moving ahead in the event, Monfils will next play 19th seed Stanislas Wawrinka.
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