World number one Novak Djokovic displayed steady recovery of his left shoulder injury on Tuesday by defeating an Australian challenger at the Japan Open, his 1st competition since pulling out of the US Open.
The experienced Serbian top-seed claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory against 20-year-old Alexei Popyrin, who fought bravely at the Ariake Colosseum, a venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Djokovic added his shoulder felt “good” and declared that he has set his eyes on an Olympic medal next year.
Popyrin mixed big serves with delicate drop shots to stage courageous offensives against 32-year-old Djokovic.
But Djokovic, taking part in a Japanese competition for the first time, kept his calm to always stay a step above the Aussie, never giving his opponent a break point, consistently playing at a “high-level” with “good intensity.”
Djokovic nailed seven aces, against eight by Popyrin, and managed to win points on 84 percent of his successful first serves.
He finished the roughly 90-minute match by winning the final five games straight. He will now face Japanese wild card Go Soeda on Wednesday.
It was his first singles competition since he withdrew from his US Open fourth-round match against Swiss Stan Wawrinka due to a left shoulder injury.
Djokovic said he has no immediate worries about his shoulder.
“I have not felt anything in previous days, including today on the match. So I am very pleased to say that I feel healthy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Djokovic was marking his 271st week as the world’s number one, claiming the title of the third longest weeks in the top spot, and passing the record of American great Ivan Lendl.
The Serbian is now chasing Pete Sampras with 286 weeks, and Roger Federer with 310 weeks.
In the rest of the Tokyo tournament, Japanese wild card Taro Daniel, ranked 127, pulled off an upset victory against second-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia, ranked 14th, with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7/5) win in a gruelling match that stretched over two hours and 30 minutes.
Japanese qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama defeated French fourth-seed Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-2.
Reilly Opelka of the US defeated his countryman seventh-seed Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4.
Frenchman Gilles Simon cruised by Spanish qualifier Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-0.
Andy Murray said his return to tennis is going “in the right direction” after the former number one claimed his biggest scalp on Tuesday since career-saving hip surgery.
The Briton defeated US Open semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (9/7) in just over two hours at the China Open in smoggy Beijing.
Murray meets compatriot Cameron Norrie in the last 16 after a gutsy victory over the 13th-ranked Italian. Now ranked 503 in the world, he fought back from a break down to force a tiebreak in the first set against the Italian Berrettini.
Murray showed glimpses of the steely determination which made him number one in 2016 as he grabbed the first set from the eighth seed.
The second set went with serve and again to a tiebreak, with Murray saving two set points on the way to a win. Also in the men’s draw, Felix Auger Aliassime set up a mouthwatering clash with second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany.
The 19-year-old Canadian, rated one of the finest young talents in tennis, beat Albert Ramos Vinolas 6-3, 6-4.
Top seed Dominic Thiem defeated Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-1.
On the women’s side of the tournament, world number one Ashleigh Barty, reigning champion Caroline Wozniacki and Naomi Osaka all comfortably reached the last 16.
Barty, troubled by a calf problem last week in Wuhan, said she felt no ill effects in a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
The 21-year-old Japanese Osaka ruthlessly blew away Germany’s Andrea Petkovic, 6-2, 6-0, in just 59 minutes. The Dane Wozniacki defeated Christina McHale of the United States, 6-4, 6-0.
Agence France-Presse