Novak Djokovic blows away Paolo Lorenzi in his opening clash – Australian Open 2012
Defending champion, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, had a ballistic beginning to his Australian Open campaign, devastating the unseeded Italian competitor, Paolo Lorenzi, in the opening round battle on Tuesday. The world number one took
just 92 minutes of play to wrap up victory in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, 6-0, marching into the second round of the Grand Slam event with authority.
Being played at the glorious Rod Laver Arena at the Melbourne Park, Australia, the contest witnessed another display of sheer class and dominance from the top ranked Serbian. Lorenzi broke his serve in the third game to get 2-1,
hinting a possible upset but it came out to be a completely one-sided affair afterwards. Djokovic reigned supreme in every segment of the game and won 18 of the 20 total games being played in the entire competition.
The top seed delivered 73 per cent of his first serve on target and secured 33 out of 45 points on it en route to victory. Djokovic nailed nine break points in the three-setter, while Lorenzi registered merely one in the whole
matchup to finish on the losing side. Apart from the opening three games, he literally faced no real challenge in the contest and raced through the games to wind up victory in straight sets.
The only serve break from the Italian in the third game ignited the rage mode in Djokovic and he didn’t drop a single game in the rest of the match to drive Lorenzi out of the competition in the most assertive manner. He then broke
the Italian serve in every single game to rocket away to victory in one and a half hour.
The rumours about Djokovic’s debilitating physical fitness were washed away by the magnificent performance he posed on Tuesday. The top seed appeared fully fit and found his targets right throughout the competition. He will take
on Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the next encounter for a place in the third round for the Australian Open. Giraldo also nailed a straight sets victory over the other Italian qualifier, Matteo Viola, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, in the opening round of the tournament.
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