Novak Djokovic marched to outlast Pablo Andujar 6-0, 6-3 after one hour and 27 minutes, showing no signs of pain in his right wrist, which bothered the 21-time Grand Slam champion at the Laver Cup last week.
In his on-court interview, the World No. 7 commented: “I like the court, it’s very intimate, and it’s very loud. The crowd here is very passionate about the sport, about tennis, and I’m really, really happy to be here and to perform here in front of you, so thank you for your support.”
The Tel Aviv Watergen Open is the first ATP singles tournament Djokovic contests in nearly three months; previously, he played at the Wimbledon Championships, winning the Grand Slam in London for the seventh time in his career.
Between Wimbledon and Tel Aviv, he competed at the Laver Cup, representing Team Europe in the group’s competition, emerging victorious in two of the three matches he played.
Meanwhile, the event held in Israel also makes its comeback to Tour. After 26 years, Tel Aviv returns to the ATP season calendar, hosting the ATP 250 tournament with Djokovic headlining the field.
The Match as It Unfolded
The Serbian made a fast start to the opener, showcasing exceptional tennis, wrapping up the first set 6-0 over Andujar in just half an hour, winning 80 percent of the first serve points, converting three of six breakpoint opportunities.
The top-seeded player won the first five games after 16 minutes before time seemed to stand still in the sixth game, as his rival raised his level, forcing him to work harder to nail the victory.
Into the second set, he kept the momentum going, charging at the net on another level, but so did the World No. 115, who rallied to avoid an early break in an eighth game that turned into a dramatic 25-minute battle.
In that regard, the 88-time ATP titlist outlined: “It was one of the longest games I’ve ever played in my life, and I’ve played many, many games in my life. But credit to Pablo for fighting and playing a great match as well.”
The Spaniard saved five break points before leveling the second set at one game apiece.
Moving well and untroubled on serve, the former world number one made an easy hold after the challenging game, resulting in a 2-1 advantage the Spanish player would narrow to 2-2.
The Belgrade native remained the best player on court, though his adversary continued to improve, setting the score even again at 3-3.
However, the 36-year-old efforts would not halt Goran Ivanisevic’s pupil from closing out the second set 6-3 on Center Court.
Djokovic did not face a breakpoint en route to reaching the quarterfinals in Tel Aviv.
Next, the 35-year-old will face Canadian Vasek Pospisil on Friday, after the World No. 149 took out home favorite Israeli qualifier Edan Leshem in straight sets.
The former leads their series 5-0, having met for the last time at the Aegon International in Eastbourne (2017), playing on the grass courts.