Novak Djokovic outclasses Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the opening round – Dubai Tennis Championships 2012
Defending champion and the world number one, Novak Djokovic, faced no real difficulty in disposing of the 72nd ranked German opponent, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, in the opening round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
on Monday. The top seed Serb took one hour and 28 minutes to wind up a comprehensive victory in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, marching into the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Winner of this year’s Australian Open crown, Djokovic carried on his sublime run of form to stamp his authority over the bleak German opponent. He improved his record to 21-2 in Dubai, aiming for his fourth consecutive title at
this star-studded event. He overcame the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, to claim the championship title last year and his impactful start on Monday clearly depicts his intensions of retaining the trophy this season as well.
Stebe posed some resistance in the opening set but his game play was far inferior to the class of the world number one. The top seed Serbian went absolutely berserk in the second set and completely blew away Stebe to register his
eighth consecutive victory of the current ATP season.
"He definitely played well," said Djokovic. "I was impressed with his game, especially in the first set. It could have gone a different way really, because he was returning well. He went on the court wanting to win, and that's
the right attitude, I think. I was really happy throughout the whole match the way I played. He gave me good rhythm and went for his shots and made a lot of winners. Credit to him. I'm happy with the first match after four weeks definitely."
Djokovic started off the contest with a cracking serve break in the very first game of the match but then frittered away four other opportunities he crafted. The German squandered two vital opportunities in the opener and failed
to curtail his trail in the set, eventually submitting the set to Djokovic at 4-6.
A steady start to the following set witnessed both men holding their opening two serves before the world number one shifted his gears to take the game away from Stebe. Djokovic stung two successive break points in the fifth and
seventh game of the set to close out the contest at 6-2. He needs just one more victory to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
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