Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, leader of the ATP rankings, made his debut with a victory in Masters Monte Carlo 1000 defeating Russia’s Ivan Gakhov, 198 in the world, in straight sets, 7-6 and 6-2, after a duel where he improved his game with dropping points.
The Serbian’s first official match on clay in 2023 seemed doomed to be a formality. However, a good point Gakhov The next shot, overcoming the previous one and already in the penalty area, American Mackenzie McDonald, seemed to take him by surprise.
Powerful with his right hand, the Russian dodged the initial nerves and for the first time was able to make a break in the fourth installment. He had two balls, but he did not use any, the second of them after a long exchange of 22 shots. The same situation happened right after on the other side, but this time Djokovic missed the opportunity.
Later came the breaks. First, Gakhov specified, and then Balkan responded, who also decided his next empty serve to put pressure on Nola, 5-4. The Serb’s hands are far from shaking, in the eleventh game he led 0:30. He failed to finish, and the decision of the first set by inertia led to a tie-break.
There, he did not forgive the world number 1, who conceded two goals to close the opening set in his favor, but finished him off in the third. This partial achievement allowed the doubts to cross over, and from that moment on, everything began to turn upside down for him.
Shake off the rust 😶🌫️@JokerNole takes the first set 7-6(5) from the energetic Gakhov in Monte Carlo!#RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/K9os4azcSD
—Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 11, 2023
In the second set Gakhov kept up to 2:2. But in an effort to extend the tie with his serve, he ended up doing it with a double fault. Too many opportunities for Djokovic, who has found a loophole to make the injury even more painful.
Gakhov puts on a show at Sud Rainier III 👏#RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/cFw4ow8Zyv
— Rolex Monte Carlo Masters (@ROLEXMCMASTERS) April 11, 2023
Three more games in a row, the last of which was labor-intensive despite the serve, allowed him to secure a place in the 1/8 finals. In this round, the winner of the confrontation between the Italians will be determined Luca Nardi and Lorenzo Musettithe executioners, respectively, are the Monegasque Valentin Vachero and the Serb Miomir Ketsmanovich.
(According to information from EFE)
Source: Aristegui Noticias

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