Novak Djokovic topples Bernard Tomic in the second round – Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012
Top seed, Novak Djokovic, regained his form and started his title defence in style, as he defeated Australia’s rising talent, Bernard Tomic, in twin sets 6-3, 6-3 in the second round at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome,
Italy on Tuesday. The Serbian required only an hour and nine minutes to undo his opponent in a one-sided brawl.
Djokovic gained lead right from beginning of the match, as he snatched opening four games to go up 4-0. Tomic got one back in the eighth and reduced the trail to 3-5 but lost his serve again in the next game, dropping it 3-6.
The Serbian fired three aces and did not make any double fault, delivering 68 percent of the first serves and clinching 11 of the 17 points on them. The reigning world number one performed exceptionally well on the second returns,
as he captured five of the seven points on them in the opener.
Djokovic and Tomic started stably in the second set, holding their serve in the first five games and taking the score to 3-2 in the favour of the former. The Serbian struck in the sixth and that one break was enough for the defending
champion, as he sealed it 6-3.
The 24-year, Djokovic, banged in a couple of aces and committed one double fault, hitting 63 percent of the first serves. He bagged majority of the points on his deliveries, as he won 13 of the 17 first and seven of the 10 second
serve points. The Serbian did not face any break point and converted one of the two he received in the second set.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Djokovic said, "It was a good first match. I played against player with talent, you don’t know what to expect from him, he’s always changing his game. I’m happy about the game and the conditions,
also another big crowd tonight."
The Serbian is happy to be back on the red clay courts of Foro Italico. He said, “The most basic thing you have in our sport – the most important – is the movement. If you cannot be in balance for the ball, and to hit the ball,
then everything becomes twice as difficult. That’s the biggest difference. Here you can actually be on the ball and slide well, where there you were slipping and falling down.”
Djokovic will play either Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic or Argentina’s Juan Monaco in the round of 16.
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