Novak Djokovic passed the second round. VALERY HACHE / AFP
The Serb beat, not without difficulty, the Russian Ivan Gakhov this Tuesday in the second round of the Masters 1000 of Monte-Carlo.
Novak Djokovic, world No.1, resumed competition on Tuesday after a successful month’s absence for his entry into the second round of the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo against Russian Ivan Gakhov (198th) 7-6 (7/ 5), 6-2 in 1h47.
«I had never seen him play before today, and it’s always difficult to face an opponent you don’t know“, explained the Serb. Big favorite for a third coronation on Monegasque soil in the absence of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, he will face for a place in the quarterfinals Lorenzo Musetti (21st) or Luca Nardi (159th). Prevented from taking part in the spring tour in the United States for lack of an anti-covid vaccine, the co-holder with Nadal of the record of 22 Grand Slam titles put an end to the course of the astonishing Gakhov, who went through the qualifications and winner of Mackenzie McDonald ( 52nd) in the first round.
“I didn’t play well in the first set”
It was Gakhov who was the first to prove dangerous by scoring the first break of the match to lead 4-3. Stung, Djokovic unbroken immediately, but could not prevent the round from ending in the tie break where he concluded on his first set point. The second round was one-sided even though Gakhov hung on until the end.
«I didn’t play well in the first set while he did. In the second, I raised my level of play“, analyzed Djokovic who committed a lot of unforced errors in the first round. Double winner at Roland-Garros, he also has only two titles in the Principality (2013 and 2015) out of the record 38 won in all of the Masters 1000.
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