Amid strong gusts of wind in the California desert, Djokovic occasionally showed signs of rust in his first match since the Australian Open final early february. The 38-year-old player struggled with groundstrokes in the first set but played more consistently in the next two sets to overcome Majchrzak, who has long admired the holder of 101 ATP Tour titles.
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Djokovic during his match against Majchrzak in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, in Indian Wells, California, US on 7/3. Reuters. |
Djokovic during his match against Majchrzak in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, in Indian Wells, California, US on 7/3. Reuters.
"My recent time at Indian Wells has been really challenging," Djokovic said in a post-match interview on the evening of 7/3. "I've found it difficult to find my best form, especially in the early stages of the tournament over the past seven or eight years. I'm very happy to have overcome this challenge."
Djokovic, who shares the record of five Indian Wells titles with Roger Federer, has recently had an unfavorable record at this tournament, failing to reach the fourth round since 2017. His last Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells was in 2016. Since then, he has successively lost to Taro Daniel, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Luca Nardi, and Botic van de Zandschulp.
At 38 years old, the Serbian player became the second oldest man to reach the third round at Indian Wells, only behind Ivo Karlovic, who achieved this at 40 years old in 2019.
"I find the wind here to be one of the most annoying factors on Tour," Djokovic added, referring to the playing conditions. "The gusts of wind, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, and constantly changing direction, make everything extremely difficult. Especially at one end of the court, it adds a lot of pressure."
In the second-round match on 7/3, Majchrzak had a stroke of luck, breaking serve in the very first game of the first set, with a net cord giving him an advantage. The Polish player then won the opening set before Djokovic increased his intensity and capitalized on his opponent's decline to force a deciding set.
Djokovic even fell backward onto the court in the first game of the third set after a 40-shot rally, with the score at 30-30. He lost that game, but then rallied, breaking Majchrzak's resistance and sealing the victory after two hours and 12 minutes.
Vy Anh
