It was a seamless transition for Juan Martin del Potro in his first match of the season on clay at the Mutua Madrid Open.
The BNP Paribas Open champion (d. Federer) took just 80 minutes to book his place in the second round on Tuesday, beating Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-3.
"I was playing well out there," said Del Potro. "That gives me confidence [heading] towards the next match."
The first-round match was Del Potro’s first appearance on the ATP World Tour since John Isner snapped his 15-match win streak in the Miami Open presented by Itaú semi-finals. Del Potro had won back-to-back titles in Acapulco and Indian Wells prior to the loss.
Del Potro won 66 per cent of service points and broke the World No. 32 for the fourth time to secure a comfortable first-round win in the Spanish capital. With victory over Dzumhur, the Argentine has now moved one win clear of Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem with an ATP World Tour-leading 22 match victories this season (22-4).
The World No. 6 will meet Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic for the first time, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. Lajovic moved into the third round after dominating two tie-breaks against World No. 29 Richard Gasquet 7-6(1), 7-6(1).
"Today [Lajovic] won a really good match against Gasquet. On clay he's a very powerful player. He plays a very intelligent game. It's going to be a tough match, as all of the matches on clay [will be] for me. I will just try to play a little bit better than today," said Del Potro. "I will try to be concentrated, focused, and I'll try to stay in control of the match."
Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut overcame American Jared Donaldson 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the second round. The 2014 semi-finalist (l. to Nadal) broke the 21-year-old on five occasions, winning 71 per cent of first-serve points (50/70) to wrap up the win after two hours and 29 minutes. Bautista Agut improves to 17-9 this season, having already lifted ATP World Tour titles in Auckland and Dubai in 2018.
The World No. 14 will meet Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round. The pair are tied at 2-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, with the German winning their most recent encounter at the BMW Open by FWU last week. Kohlschreiber reached the second round after a 6-4, 6-3 win over Japan's Yuichi Sugita. The World No. 28 hit four aces and won 100 per cent of second-serve points (11/11) to progress after 68 minutes.
Did You Know?
Juan Martin del Potro owns a 14-6 record at the Mutua Madrid Open. The Argentine has twice reached the semi-finals at the Caja Magica, falling to Roger Federer in 2009 and Tomas Berdych in 2012.