Novak Djokovic says he was troubled in opening match at the China Open – Tennis News
Seeded top in this event, Novak Djokovic from Serbia, admitted that he had tough time in the second set of his opening match at the China Open, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China.
Playing his first match since bowing out to Great Britain’s Andy Murray in the semis at Flushing Meadows, Djokovic thundered into the National Tennis Center. He pulled out the opener with a breadstick in his opening match against the German qualifier, Michael
Berrer.
The 25-year-old swiped his entire serves without encountering any trouble in the following set. However, he failed to cash any of three break opportunities he sought and took the set to the tie-breaker. Djokovic was underplayed in it and eventually suffered
a 6-7(3) shock.
He re-gained his strength in the final set again and sealed the deal with a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-2 score line but faced tough time in the second set.
"I had a tough time to really return his serve in the second (set), because he went for precision more than the speed of his first serves," the triumphant Serb was quoted in a press conference. "He had a very high percentage of first serves in and he put
a lot of pressure on my serves. I tried to stay closer to the line in the third, and it worked."
Ranked second in the world, Djokovic has a perfect record at the China Open. He has played at this outdoor hard court event in 2009 and 2010 and stole the show on both occasions. The Serbian ace missed last year’s China Open due to injuries but is looking
forward to maintain his unbeaten record.
On another court, second seeded David Ferrer faced a bitter fate. He retired from the tournament with a stomach virus after trailing 4-5 against the Taiwanese contender, Yen-Hsun Lu.
The third seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will accompany Djokovic in the proceeding round. He was broken once but capitalised on two out of five break chances to formulate a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) score line in one hour and 56 minutes.
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