Playing his first singles match since the U.S. Open final last September, Novak Djokovic took a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Marton Fucsovics in two hours.
In his on-court interview, Djokovic said: “It was great to be back on the court after almost two months without competition. I did not expect anything, but I knew this was not going to be an easy match.
“Marton is a very talented player; he has a lot of quality. It was a great fight. I couldn’t break his serve, he was playing with a lot of precision, and we pushed each other to the limit. It was a great opening match for me. I am very pleased.”
The Top seed was in control of the first set, opening a 3-0 lead, following to wrap up the opener with a 6-2 win in 38 minutes.
In the second set, Fucsovics found his rhythm, and quickly, the 34-year-old came under pressure with the Hungarian earning an early break over Djokovic’s serve to lead 2-1, remaining on top at 4-2.
Playing aggressively, the world No. 40 won a crucial point on his second serve to close out the second set 6-4 and level the match in 39 minutes.
The 29-year-old served well, hitting seven aces, 13 winners, converting the breakpoint opportunity he faced, winning 90 percent of points on his first serve, to his rival 87 percent, recording seven unforced errors each.
In the decider, the Belgrade native regrouped, leading Fucsovics 3-1. They followed to exchange breaks, but at 5-2, Djokovic had consolidated his game, opening a gap his adversary could not narrow, resulting in a 6-3 triumph for the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
Overall, the 85-time ATP titlist fired 24 winners, three aces, and 23 unforced errors, winning 77 percent of points on his first serve and 56 percent on his second.
Furthermore, he converted four of the eleven breakpoints opportunities he faced.
Djokovic will next meet the winner of the clash between Frenchmen Adrian Mannarino and Gael Monfils.
On Wednesday, he will be back on court to play doubles alongside Filip Krajinovic. The pair will face Filip Polasek and John Peers, aiming to advance into the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
On Monday, the duo overcame Australians Alex de Minaur and Luke Seville in three sets.