Djoker beats Robredo, eyes 700th career win
Dubai, February 23
Novak Djokovic hammered Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-1 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday, winning the 699th match of his career.
“Every milestone is very special, of course. I wish to make the 700th win in this tournament, obviously,” said the world No. 1.
“But it’s not going to affect too much my preparation for the next match. It’s not going to change too much the way I approach the next match or this tournament. So of course I’ll be very pleased if it happens here. If not, maybe next one.” Djokovic now stands 13-0 this season as he bids for a third 2016 title after trophies in Doha and Melbourne.
The top seed will next face Tunisian wildcard Malek Jaziri, who advanced over qualifier Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-1. “Obviously playing the first match in three weeks, different conditions, I didn’t know how I’m going to start, whether or not I’m going to execute the game plan,” Djokovic said.
“But everything went well, very few things went wrong. I was putting constant pressure on his serve. I returned very, very well. I served solid and was aggressive from back of the court. I cannot be happier with this performance. I’m glad to be back with a solid win.” Djokovic has played finals at his last 17 events, winning 13. Djokovic is playing Dubai for a tenth year in succession, and his overall record here now is 35-5. He owns Dubai titles from 2009-2011 and 2013; he lost the final to Roger Federer last year.
Popular Marcos Baghdatis delivered the first upset of the week as he put out Serbian fifth seed Viktor Troicki 7-6(2) 6-2 despite nearly 40 unforced errors.
The Cypriot will next face Canadian Vasek Pospisil, who defeated Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-3 5-7 6-4.
"Rising South Korean player Chung Hyeon made a winning Dubai debut, beating Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-4 a day after the Italian turned 32.
Yuki bows out
World No. 107 Yuki Bhambri squandered three match points before going down 2-6 7-6(2) 6-0 against world No. 51 Lukas Rosol.
The Indian wildcard had three match points in the 12th game of the second set but couldn’t convert and went on to lose seven games on the trot to bow out. Mahesh Bhupathi and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi lost 4-6 2-6 to Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi. — Agencies
