Djokovic advances in Serbia

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:27

Djokovic, beaten in the final in Rome by world number one by world number one Rafael Nadal last week, seemed in no mood to prolong things for the sake of his home crowd as he claimed the opening set 6-2.

Tipsarevic fought back to claim the second set but in the end Djokovic prevailed a relatively comfortable 6-2 4-6 6-0 winner.

Fifth seed and fellow Serbian Viktor Troicki also progressed, beating Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-4, but Cristophe Rochus, seeded eight, was ousted in three sets by Kristof Vliegen, the world number 105 from Belgium.

The third seed, Igor Andreev, also exited the tournament, the Russian forced to retire at 3-2 down in the first set to send Poland’s Lukasz Kubot through.

In first-round action there were wins for Leonardo Mayer, Flavio Cipolla and Brian Dabul.

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here

By Tim Farthing

About the Author / Tim Farthing

Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.