In contrast to Gakhov, who was playing in his third tour-level match, Djokovic was playing in his 1,254th, and that experience paid off in crucial situations.
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On Tuesday at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Novak Djokovic successfully resumed play. The World No. 1 was in danger of dropping the opening set after a fierce challenge from World No. 198 Ivan Gakhov. However, Djokovic handled the pressure situations expertly to advance with a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory. Gakhov entered the qualifying field as the fourth alternate and made the most of the chance to get into the main draw and win his first ATP Tour match to move on to the second round. In contrast to Gakhov, who was playing in his third tour-level match, Djokovic was playing in his 1,254th, and that experience paid off in crucial situations.
“It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I haven’t played my best, particularly in the first set. And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions. It’s different practising and then playing an official match on clay, [where] I guess no two bounces are the same. It’s always quite unpredictable what’s going to happen. But all in all, I’m just pleased with the way I held my nerves I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win.”
“I never saw Ivan play before today to be honest. I’ve seen a little bit of his video from yesterday’s match and that’s all,” Djokovic said of his opponent on the day. “That was not the best preparation, but he’s a young player coming up from the Challenger Tour and he just was on a roll.”
At the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday, Francisco Cerundolo defeated World No. 14 Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 to earn his seventh Top 20 victory of his career. After 72 minutes, the Argentine advanced and levelled his head to head series against Norrie at 1-1 by winning 90% (26/29) of his first-serve points and hitting 24 winners in the process. The 24-year-old will next portray either Maxime Cressy or Matteo Berrettini.
Cerundolo, who won his only tour-level title on clay in Bastad last year, arrived in Monte-Carlo after defeating Top 10 player Felix Auger-Aliassime in Miami to advance to the quarterfinals.
On Monday, Stanislas Wawinka defeated Tallon Griekspoor in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the second round at the Monte-Carlo Masters 2023. The 38-year-old Wawrinka turned back the clock to win his 22nd match at the ATP Masters 1000 competition while playing on Court Rainier III in front of a jam-packed audience. After two hours and twenty-five minutes, the former World No. 3 hit 35 winners and won on his sixth match point to advance.
“It was really important to stay calm with myself,” Wawrinka said. “In the first round you need to find your game. The first match on clay is never easy against a good player. I am happy to get through. It was important to fight until the end.” Wawrinka had just advanced to the fourth round of the Indian Wells tournament, where he defeated Top 10 player Holger Rune, when he arrived in Monte Carlo. Seven of Wawrinka’s 16 tour-level championships, including Roland Garros in 2015, have been won on clay.
