Djokovic wins his opening match at the Rome Masters.

Rome Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the Masters 1000 event in Italy after defeating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(5), 6-2 on the evening of May 12.

Djokovic still had to wear a bandage on his right elbow when he entered the second-round match against a top 60 ATP opponent. The number one seed struggled in the first set as Etcheverry served well and moved nimbly. The Argentinian player won the very first service game of the match, taking a 3-1 lead.

Djokovic hasn't reached an ATP final since the Australian Open in early January. Photo: ATP

Djokovic adjusted his playing style in the second half of the first set, using more net rushes and drop shots. He regained his balance by capitalizing on a break point in the sixth game, leveling the score at 3-3. The Serbian then missed two set points in the tenth game, when he was leading 5-4 and returning the ball. Etcheverry forced Djokovic into a tie-break, leading 3-0 in the tie-break but ultimately losing 5-7.

The second set went more easily for Djokovic as he held his service games and successfully converted two break points to close out the match with a 6-2 score after 37 minutes.

Djokovic admitted he hasn't been in his best form yet. He said: "It's difficult playing against a clay court specialist like Etcheverry. It took me a long time to find my rhythm. I was only happy with the final games."

Etcheverry, who is 1.96m tall, often tracks Djokovic's ATP ranking points to compare himself to them. He started doing this when he earned his first ATP ranking points, when Djokovic held the top spot with 12,900 points. Etcheverry is currently in the top 100 in the world , having accumulated 826 points – nearly 6,000 points less than Djokovic.

Djokovic will face Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. He holds a 65-10 win-loss record in Rome and has never been eliminated before the quarterfinals. Djokovic is aiming for his seventh title in the Italian capital and to extend his record of 39 Masters 1000 titles.

Vy Anh

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