Novak Djokovic begins quest for sixth title at the year’s opening ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
The top seed at the Indian Wells this season Djokovic, survived an opening-round scare in his return to the competition at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, while been held by World No. 69 and Australian Aleksandar Vukic before eventually grinding out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory.
Djokovic who is a five-time champion eased his way back into match play for the first time since his semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open in late January.
“Five years is quite a long time for a professional tennis player but at the same time playing here the last time in 2019 felt like yesterday,” Djokovic said.
“I connected with the crowd and everyone I haven’t seen in five years very quickly. A lot of people come to practice sessions, not just mine. It’s amazing to see that much passion and respect and appreciation for tennis and tennis players. It’s awesome to be in Tennis Paradise.”
A holder of a record 40 ATP Masters 1000 titles, Djokovic notched his 400th match win at that level, joining Rafael Nadal (406) as the only players to have reached the milestone.
The 36-year-old, who has spent a record 415 weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, last won the BNP Paribas Open in 2016, when he lifted the trophy for the third consecutive year.
Djokovic will next meet Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi, who defeated China’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. It will be the first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between the pair.
Elsewhere, 2021 Indian Wells champion Cameron Norrie and 28th seed dispatched Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
Norrie fended off a break point when serving at 3-2 in the opening set and then proceeded to drop just one point behind his delivery the remainder of the set.
Norrie who is three wins shy of 200 career singles victories, will next face eight seed Hubert Hurkacz or Gael Monfils in a third round clash.
Another former champion, Taylor Fritz, also kick started his Indian Wells campaign in straight-sets fashion Saturday. The home favourite and 2022 titlist defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(2), 6-2.
Aiming for his second title this season after triumphing in Delray Beach, Fritz will next meet 19th seed Sebastian Baez or Fabio Fognini.
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