INDIAN WELLS.- The Serbian Novak Djokovic He needed three sets to beat Australian Aleksander Vukic on Saturday in his first appearance since 2019 in Indian Wells (United States), in which he also celebrated his 400th victory in Masters 1000 tournaments.
The world number one beat Vukic (no. 69) 6-2, 5-7 and 6-3 in a second-round match played on center court.
The next rival for ‘Nole’, five-time winner of the event, will be the Italian Luca Nardi, 20 years old and number 123 in the world ranking.
On a sunny afternoon, Djokovic was received with a huge ovation by the nearly 10,000 fans in Indian Wells (California), where he had not competed in recent years due to his refusal to be vaccinated against covid-19.
It was also the Balkan’s first match since his loss in January in the Australian Open semifinals against Italian Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic did not seem to resent the inactivity in a first set that he dominated from start to finish until he bagged it in 35 minutes.
Vukic, with no ATP titles under his belt, delivered serve at the first opportunity and facilitated his illustrious rival’s relentless defensive play by connecting only 52% of his first serves.
Djokovic began to have problems with Vukic’s powerful forehand in the second set, in which he suffered a break at the first and soon found himself 0-3 down.
The Serb regained ground, but, to the surprise of the crowd, found himself with two set points for Vukic, who took advantage of the second with a fabulous return to a 198 km/h serve.
Vukic, whose parents had to flee Sarajevo during the Balkan war, was faced with the opportunity to achieve the biggest victory of his career precisely against Djokovic.
Turn in favor of Djokovic:
The 36-year-old Serbian giant thus had to roll up his sleeves in the final set in which, after wasting two break points in the third game, he found the decisive break in the fifth, which ended up allowing him to enjoy the victory with a huge smile.
Djokovic thus reached 400 victories throughout his career in Masters 1000 tournaments, the second highest category after the Grand Slams, of which he has won a record 40 titles.
Also champion of 24 Grand Slams, more than any other male tennis player, ‘Nole’ is now seeking his sixth Indian Wells trophy with which he would break his current tie with Roger Federer at the top of that record.
Source: AFP
