Novak Djokovic praised the fans in Rome after a 6-3 6-2 victory over Aslan Karatsev saw him move into the second round.
The world number one found his feet after an enthralling display downed an error-prone Russian in straight sets.
Djokovic broke serve on four occasions as he produced a relentless display to earn a 60th match win in the Italian capital.
It was a very good win for the Serb who has bounced back after his epic semi-final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid last week.
After the match Djokovic spoke highly of the Italian crowd and spoke about the victory, “You always hope you can play some exciting and attractive points, and that you can come out as the winner of those points and celebrate with the crowd, obviously,” Djokovic admitted.
“That’s what the crowd is looking for. Energy, excitement, fight, and they want to see some good tennis. We had some nice points today. It’s always good to play in the Colosseum of tennis, and this stadium certainly is.
“When you see him, physically, [he is] a very strong guy. You never know with him. If he’s feeling the ball, he can be very dangerous because he stays so close to the line, puts pressure on his opponents.
“He was missing a lot of balls today though. He gave me a couple of breaks there in the first and second sets, but I’ll take this win for sure. It’s a straight-sets win against a quality opponent and I’m looking forward to the next challenge.”
The pressure is on Djokovic as he looks to gain momentum ahead of his Roland Garros title defence in a couple of weeks time.
This is as anything less than a semi-final this week and Djokovic will lose his world number one spot to Daniil Medvedev.
Next up for the Serb in the last 16 will be either compatriot Laslo Djere or former rival Stan Wawrinka on Thursday.
