The defending champion is up and running in Rome! 🇮🇹 World No.1 @DjokerNole defeats Fritz 6-3 7-6(5) to move into R3. #IBI21
Novak Djokovic overcomes Taylor Fritz, rain and the umpire to reach Rome Masters R3
ATPTuesday, 11 May 2021 at 20:10
Novak Djokovic had a very eventful day at the Rome Masters today but the world number one overcame all of that and reached R3.
The return of Novak Djokovic at the Rome Masters drew a lot of interest around the world and the match did not disappoint delivering good tennis and quite a bit of drama. It has become somewhat of a tradition to have drama when Djokovic faces Fritz and today was no exception. You can read all bout that below.
On the court itself, we saw a very focused Djokovic who dominated from the start. Fritz possess a precise serve and his play depends on it. Novak's return was able to completely neutralize his serve thanks to the slow courts of Rome. He took an early 3-0 lead and had a chance to go a double break up but Fritz was able to find some rhythm.
In the end, Djokovic won the opening set 6-3 thanks to his great all-round play. Novak enjoys playing in Rome, it has been one of his most successful clay events and he showed that against Fritz. The 2nd set followed a similar pattern as Djokovic took a 2-0 lead before Frit pulled it back to 2-2.
Novak once again took the 4-2 lead and held it until the moment he was serving for the match. By that time the rain already starting falling and Fritz made some incredible shots to tie it up at 5-5 after which the match was suspended. Upon return several hours later the players ended up in a tiebreak where Novak proved too strong for Fritz winning it 7-5.
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