ATP Doha: Novak Djokovic shines against Damir Dzumhur for a great start
The best player in the world and the top seed in Doha Novak Djokovic has made the perfect return in Doha where he won the title in 2016 and 2017, toppling Damir Dzumhur 6-1 6-2 in 55 minutes for the best possible start of the official season after going all the way at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship during the weekend. Back in November, Damir was forced to retire against Novak in the third round of Paris Masters due to an injury and he failed to win more than three games today as well, standing no chance against the strongest possible rival who is the favorite to win the title here and also in Melbourne in two weeks time.
This was the 11th straight win for Novak in Doha after skipping the event in 2018 due to an injury, dropping 10 points on serve and never facing a break point to mount the pressure on the other side of the net all the time. Serving at only 54%, Damir couldn't do much behind his initial shot, allowing Novak to win more than half of the points on the return and to score four breaks from eight opportunities he created, controlling the scoreboard from start to finish. Novak grabbed an early break already in the second game after a double fault from Damir and he gained a 5-1 lead after another break in game six following a forehand error from the Bosnian.
Serving for the set, Novak fired three winners in game seven to close the opener in 23 minutes, setting the course for a commanding win as was expected before the start of the encounter. Damir fends off four break points at the start of the second set to end his drought but that didn't last for long, with Novak placing a return winner in game three for a break at love and a 2-1 lead. Dzumhur was powerless against the deep and precise shots from the world no. 1 and he suffered another break in game five before Novak completed the win with a service winner in the eighth game to set the second round clash against Marton Fucsovics.
First round result:
[1]Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1 6-2
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Qghy9f
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