In contrast to his sluggish tournament debut against Tomas Etcheverry, six-time Rome champion Djokovic originally appeared to be in better shape.
On Sunday, Iga Swiatek crushed Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-0 while Novak Djokovic prevailed over Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 to go to the round of 16 at the Italian Open. Six-time Rome winner Djokovic appeared to be in better shape than he had been in the tournament’s sluggish opening match against Tomas Etcheverry, but he once again found himself up against a tough opponent in the former world number three.
“I feel as though I’m approaching the target level. You can always play better, but I had a pretty excellent opponent today, and I think I did well,” Djokovic told the press.
Djokovic appeared to be over the elbow injury that caused him to miss last week’s Madrid Masters because he was no longer sporting the elbow brace he wore in Friday’s second-round encounter.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion broke back immediately after losing his serve in the opening game of the match, and in game four he broke once more to turn the tide of the first set in his favor.
Former world number three Dimitrov surrendered the ball to the Serb with a shaky backhand into the net in game three of the second set, which Djokovic won with a serve out to take the lead.
To Djokovic’s chagrin, who thought the shot that won the game was long, Dimitrov’s own break to tie the match at 4-4 angered him. When Djokovic won the set, the Foro Italico audience erupted in jubilant applause.
But in each of his 16 visits in Rome, Djokovic has advanced at least as far as the quarterfinals, and a strong third set performance sealed his entry into the fourth round.
I was quite pleased to get the proper rhythm in the opening game of the first set. To break early and keep things under control was extremely essential, according to Djokovic, who will play Cameron Norrie of Great Britain in the quarterfinals.
