(Indian Wells) World number 1 Novak Djokovic, returning to the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells (California, United States) for the first time since 2019, qualified in three sets for his entry into the tournament.
Exempted from the first round, like all the top seeds, Novak Djokovic made his debut on Saturday in the second round, for a not so simple victory against the Australian Aleksandar Vukic (6-2, 5-7, 6-3).
Good on his legs, Vukic (69e in the ranking) often held the exchange against his prestigious opponent, with irregular intensity. The Australian notably won the second set with a superb laser return on the line, Djokovic’s usual specialty.
The Serbian world number 1 was able to tighten up the game at the right time to avoid too much trouble.
“Vukic works very well, he had a good match. His serve and forehand were excellent today (Saturday). It’s my first match since the Australian Open (in January), I was nervous at first. I played the first set well, he had his moment in the second, I’m happy with the way I finished the match,” Djokovic commented.
Among the favorites of the tournament, the American Coco Gauff, world No.3, came close to elimination against the Frenchwoman Clara Burel, who served for the match at 5-3 in the last set, before losing in the tiebreaker (2-6, 6-3, 7-6).
Her compatriot Jessica Pegula, world No.5, on the other hand lost against the Russian Anna Blinkova (6-2, 3-6, 6-3).
Former Japanese world No.1 Naomi Osaka won her most beautiful victory since returning from maternity to the circuit in January, against Russian Liudmila Samsonova (7-5, 6-3), 15e in the ranking.