Djokovic Shakes Off Rust; Advances in Rome

May 13, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Early morning rain pushed back the start of the first round at the Italian Open in Rome on Tuesday, but play would eventually begin later than anticipated. A number of the sport’s biggest names were set to take the court Tuesday including Stanislas Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer.

Djokovic was the first of those three to open up his tournament bid as he faced off with Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. The Serbian native was playing in his first match since dealing with a wrist injury that held him out of the Mutua Madrid Open. He recovered from the injury nicely, handling Stepanek in a 6-3, 7-5 victory in one hour and 37 minutes.

He showed a few signs of rust, failing to convert on a couple break advantages, but broke Stepanek’s serve in the 11th game of the second set to clinch the victory. Djokovic is now 10-1 in the head-to-head series, and is seeking his third title at this tournament.

In other Rome action, Germany’s Tommy Haas battled with Andrea Seppi of Italy in a three-set duel. Haas took down Seppi in his home country 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, bouncing back nicely from a disappointing first-round exit to Igor Sijsling in the Mutua Madrid Open last week. 

Also advancing to the next round on Tuesday were Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson, Andrey Golubev and Ernests Gulbis, with a number of other matches still to be played in Rome later today. 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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