Top seed Novak Djokovic shrugged off recent concerns about his form by producing a hard-fought win over Grigor Dimitrov in the third round of the Italian Masters on Sunday.
Djokovic, who is seeking his seventh title at the Foro Italico, defeated the world No.33 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, to extend his dominant head-to-head record against the Bulgarian to 11-1. The victory has rewarded the Serbian with his 1050th Tour win which is a milestone that has only ever been achieved by four other male players in the Open Era. Djokovic’s latest performance saw him produce 22 winners against 24 unforced errors as he converted four out of seven break points.
“It was a very solid (performance). I think I could have won in straight sets,” Djokovic said afterwards.
“I was a set and 4-2 up. I had a pretty decent forehand in the middle of the court on deuce against his serve and missed that. He held his serve well. Then we had new balls in the next game and I hit a double fault. Then the crowd got into it and behind him (Dimitrov). The energy of the match changed and I dropped my level a bit.’
“Luckily I managed to find it right away in the first game (of the third set) and shifted the momentum to my side. I am really pleased with how I closed out the match.”
Coming into Rome there had been doubts over Djokovic’s current fitness after he pulled out of Madrid due to an elbow issue. Then in his opening match in the Italian capital against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, he wore a protective sleeve over his arm and appeared to be dealing with some kind of illness, prompting him to ask his team for medical assistance during a changover.
It looked as if Djokovic’s problems would continue in his clash against Dimitrov after he failed to win his first seven service points before finding his groove on the court. Overcoming the early blip, the top seed broke two times in a row as he raced to a 5-2 lead in less than 30 minutes. However, Dimitrov continued to fight in the following game by saving four set points to hold but it wasn’t enough to prevent his rival from claiming the opener.
A cat-and-mouse chase occurred during what was a roller-coaster second set. Djokovic looked set for a straightforward victory after he broke en route to a 6-4, 3-1, lead. But Dimitrov refused to back down as he roared his way back to level at 4-4 against the former champion who on numerous occasions was critical of the court quality throughout the match. At one stage the former world No.3 won 12 consecutive points against Djokovic. Gaining momentum, he then worked his way to a set point with a winning backhand down the line before a bad ball bounce prompted Djokovic to return the ball out.
With alarm bells ringing in his camp, the 22-time Grand Slam champion swiftly restored order in the decider by winning five out of six games played. Putting to sleep Dimitrov’s hopes of beating a No.1 player for the first time since 2013. Djokovic appeared to have some form of discomfort in his hip region as the match entered his climax but it failed to derail him from victory.
Djokovic has now won 66 matches at the Italian Open which is the second-highest in the tournament’s history for a men’s player after Rafael Nadal (69). He will next play either 13th seed Cameron Norrie or Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
