Two-time champion Novak Djokovic hung tough, drawing on his big-match experience to come through a stern second-round test against Spanish veteran Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 at the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Second seed Djokovic, who missed out on an opportunity to break at 4-4 in the second set, soon trailed Almagro 0-3 in the decider, but worked his way back on Court Manolo Santana to record his 15th match win of the season over two hours and 15 minutes.
“Obviously when you're not winning too many matches, you have to build the confidence level, so to win matches like this definitely helps confidence,” said Djokovic. “[Almagro] loves playing on clay. He was obviously motivated. He has a lot of strength in his shots, a lot of precision. He can, from both corners, hit equally well. If he doesn't make many mistakes, he can really beat anyone.
“But I hung in there and knew that eventually I'm going to get my chances and going to get some looks on the second serves,” he added. "When they were presented, I was ready to use them.”
Djokovic, who beat Andy Murray in the 2016 final, will next another Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who is competing in Madrid for the 16th straight year, in the third round.
“I’m still finding my way to that consistency level and quality of tennis that I'm looking for. I'm aware that I'm not playing at my best, but I'm definitely believing in myself and the process,” said Djokovic. “Eventually, the game will come together.”
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The defending champion rolled through the opening set, breaking Almagro three times to gain a one-set lead after 26 minutes. Almagro settled his play in the second and matched Djokovic throughout, erasing two break points at 4-4, 15/40 to hold. He'd break the next game, on his second set point chance, when Djokovic netted a cross-court forehand.
Almagro, the 2010 semi-finalist at the Caja Magica, soon took a 3-0 lead in the deciding set and came within two points of a 4-2 advantage. But Djokovic soon found his range on groundstrokes. Almagro, spurred on by the local crowd, attempted to keep each rally below four strokes, but in the 11th game, two pinpoint accurate winners from Djokovic gave him the decisive break.
The second-round contest was Djokovic's first match since splitting with his long-time team of coach Marian Vajda, fitness coach Gebhard Phil Gritsch and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic. Djokovic, who announced the mutual decision last week, is now working with only a physiotherapist, his brother, Marko, and former Spanish tennis player Pepe Imaz, with whom the Serbian has worked with the past few years.
Lopez, competing in Madrid for the 16th straight year, struck 14 aces to beat France's Gilles Simon 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3) in two hours and 12 minutes. “Gilles is a very tough player,” said Lopez. “He returns every single ball. He has a lot of abilities. I knew if I played from the baseline the whole match, I wouldn't win.”
When asked about facing Djokovic, Lopez said, “It's obvious tomorrow, I need to serve pretty well. That's my main weapon to be able to beat Novak. I have to take advantage, try not to play long rallies, because Novak is better than me when we play long rallies. I think I have to play an intelligent game, work out my tactics.”