DJOKOVIC STARTS WELL; SIMON MARCHES ON

Written by: Staff on 19th April 2012

DJOKOVIC STARTS WELL; SIMON MARCHES ON |

Monte-Carlo, Monaco

by ATP Staff

Original Story:http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/04/16/Monte-Carlo-Wednesday-Djokovic-Makes-Strong-Start.aspx

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic made a strong start in his bid to dethrone Rafael Nadal at theMonte-Carlo Rolex Masters, defeating Italy’sAndreas Seppi 6-1, 6-4 in his opening second-round match on Wednesday.

The Serbian, who resides in Monte-Carlo, broke serve three times to claim victory in 88 minutes. He is making his sixth appearance at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament and improved to a 12-5 event record. He was runner-up in 2009 (l. to Nadal) and reached the semi-finals in 2008 (l. to Federer) and 2010 (l. to Verdasco).

“I think I served really well when I needed to,” reflected Djokovic. “That’s encouraging for the clay because you don’t get to rely on your serves as much as maybe on other surfaces, so it’s good to have a couple of free points there.

“I thought I was really focused first set. I played really good. I had a tough opponent, obviously, a quality opponent that plays good on clay. For the first official match [on clay] since Roland Garros last year, it was satisfying.”

The 24-year-old Djokovic is chasing his third title in what has been an impressive start to the season. The Belgrade native defended his Australian Open (d. Nadal) and Miami (d. Murray) titles and reached the semi-finals in Dubai (l. to Murray) and Indian Wells (l. to Isner). He has a 21-2 match record.

For a place in the quarter-finals, Djokovic will face No. 16 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, who overcame Australia’s Bernard Tomic 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. In revenge for his five-set defeat to Tomic in the third round of the Australian Open, Dolgopolov hit 11 aces and saved six of the seven break points he faced, finishing strongly to prevail in one hour and 40 minutes.

Looking ahead to the clash with Djokovic, Dolgopolov said, “I know I can compete with him. Then you just go in the match, try to show your best tennis. He’s been dominating for the second year now. For sure you need to do your best. I mean, he’s No. 1, I’m No. 21. Obviously he’s higher in the rankings. He’s playing more consistent. But I think I have my chances and I’ll try my best.”

French hope Gilles Simon reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil. The ninth-seeded Simon raced through the 63-minute match, converting five of his nine break point chances and winning 81 per cent of points behind his first serve.

“I played very well,” said Simon. “The conditions as they were today suit me well also. They are not too fast. The ball doesn’t bounce too high. So I never feel I’m outrun, and I can play very long rallies. When I feel good, as I did today, then I am able to go from defensive play to aggressive play very quickly, and then it is tough for my opponent to find a way of outrunning me.”

The 27-year-old Simon goes onto face seventh seed Janko Tipsarevic, who dismissed Spain’s Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3. The Serbian hit eight aces and broke serve six times to clinch victory in one hour and 33 minutes.

Julien Benneteau also flew the flag for France, earning a third-round clash with Andy Murray after ousting 15th-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 6-3 in 68 minutes.

Topics: Gilles Simon, Monte Carlo, Novak Djokovic