Novak Djokovic keeps Ivan Gakhov at bay

Monte Carlo, April 11

Novak Djokovic briefly ran into a spot of bother as he fought his way into the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 7-6(5) 6-2 victory against Russian qualifier Ivan Gakhov here today.

The world No. 1, who had not played since early March when he reached the final in Dubai after being forced to skip Indian Wells and Miami because of his Covid unvaccinated status, struggled to find his range on the Monte Carlo clay before prevailing on a sunlit centre court.

Gakhov went for his shots and claimed the first service break to lead 4-3, only for the Serbian to break right back and take the opening set by winning the tiebreak 7-5.

Djokovic was then business-like in the second set, leaving no chance of a comeback for his opponent, who suddenly felt the court was too big for him.

Alexander Zverev started his clay-court season with a 3-6 6-2 6-4 win over Alexander Bublik to reach the second round.

The 13th-seeded German was playing on clay for the first time since a right ankle injury forced him to retire in the French Open semifinals against Rafael Nadal last year.

Zverev said he needed to “get the injury out of my head” and get used to sliding again. “It felt awful at times to be honest, but he made me feel awful,” Zverev said. “Tactically he played well, he didn’t let me play my game at all. He didn’t let me have my rhythm and he almost won the match, just a few points here and there.”

Still, Zverev limited his unforced errors to nine and hit 21 winners on Court Rainier III to set up a match against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the next round.

Two-time semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov also advanced by beating American Ben Shelton 6-1 3-6 6-3. Dimitrov will next play Jiri Lehecka of Czech Republic. — Agencies