Top seed Novak Djokovic thrashed Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-0 6-3 in the round of 16 at the ATP Tel Aviv Open on Thursday. The Serbian was excellent throughout, playing some top-quality tennis to dismantle his opponent. Djokovic will next take on Vasek Pospisil of Canada in the quarterfinals and remains the odds-on favourite to win the title. But what were the keys to his win over the Spaniard?
#1 Djokovic at his clinical best in the first set:
Djokovic was world-class in the first set, hardly giving his opponent any chances as he raced through the set. He broke the Spaniard three times and although Andujar showed some resolve in his third service game, it was not enough for him to avoid being bagelled. Djokovic adopted an attacking approach from the start of the match and did not shy away from pulling the trigger down-the-line after pushing his opponent to the far corner of the court. His whole repertoire of shots – angular groundstrokes, volleys and drop shots – were on display and Andujar was a touch unlucky to be on the receiving end of one of the greatest of all-time at his best.
#2 Andujar puts up a fight at the start of the second:
Andujar did not let the whitewash in the first set affect him and showed some fight at the start of the second set. He was able to keep the 35-year-old Serb moving from side to side, rather than allowing him to dominate from the centre of the baseline. It was enough for the Spaniard to win his first three service games in the second set. However, he could not break Djokovic’s serve either as the the score was level at 3-3. Nor, in truth, did he look particularly likely to break Djokovic’s serve
#3 Djokovic raises his level to finish the match:
Djokovic then raised his level again to break Andujar in the eighth game of the second set to go up 5-3. The Serb then served out the set and finish the match. Andujar’s frequent unforced errors in the second set ultimately cost him. Andujar could win only 54% and 41% of the points on his first and second serves, respectively, in the match as his serve was consistently punished by the greatest returner of all time. Djokovic did not face a single break point in the match and hit 29 winners against Andujar’s 17. The Serb also committed only eight unforced errors against the Spaniard’s 15 to mark an almost flawless performance.
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