ATP Dubai: Novak Djokovic with a successful return - now against Philipp Kohlschreiber
Novak Djokovic has returned to the ATP tour with a win. The world number one clearly defeated Malek Jaziri in Dubai 6: 1 and 6: 2 and now faces round two with Philipp Kohlschreiber .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Feb 24, 2020, 05:23 pm
Novak Djokovic did not need too much start-up time in his first match since the Australian Open final won: The Serb took Malek Jaziri's service straight away in the first service game and should continue to dominate the game as expected.
In the end there was a completely safe 6-1 and 6-2 win against the Tunisian. With this success, the 32-year-old also underpinned his claim to the position as industry leader in men's tennis - should Djokovic leave Dubai before the semi-finals, Rafael Nadal could overtake him with a tournament victory in Acapulco.
In the second round, Djokovic and Philipp Kohlschreiber deal. The German prevailed against Mohamed Safwat 4: 6, 6: 4 and 6: 0. In the head to head with Djokovic, Kohlschreiber is 2:11 behind, but the Augsburg team won the last duel on hard court. In Indian Wells, the 36-year-old got the upper hand in two sets .
On the first day of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, Richard Gasquet, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov won alongside Djokovic and Kohlschreiber. Gasquet beat Lloyd Harris 7-6 (5) and 6-4, Rublev beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 and 6-4, and Khachanov defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6 (2) and 6-1. The 23-year-old Russian could meet Austrian Dennis Novak in the second round .