Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Marton Fucsovics of Hungary during their Qatar ExxonMobil Open match played at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. (Picture: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula)
World number one Novak Djokovic yesterday fought off stiff resistance from Hungarian giant Marton Fucsovics to reach the quarter-finals of the season’s first 250-point tournament where Grand Slam star Stan Wawrinka stayed on course for a possible clash against the top seed in Doha.
Djokovic, a two-time champion in Doha, survived a hiccup in the first set to claw his way back for a fighting 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win in exactly two hours on the Centre Court.
Earlier yesterday, unseeded Wawrinka beat Nicolas Jarry of Chile in straight sets to sign in for the quarter-finals. Wawrinka, a former doubles partner of tennis legend Roger Federer, won 6-4, 7-6 in the day’s opening clash on the Centre Court.
In other matches yesterday, seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain edged past qualifier Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-4, Dusan Lajovic of Serbia beat Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis 7-6, 0-6, 7-5 while fourth seed Marco Cecchinato of Italy got a walkover from injured Guido Pella. Organisers said Pella was suffering from a back problem.
Djokovic, who improves to 14-1 in Doha, yesterday praised Fucsovics’ fighting spirit on court.
“I must say I was in a corner and I had to fight my way back. I got a lucky call in the 10th game (of the second set) and I managed to fight from there,” Djokovic said yesterday.
“That’s how he plays. He was a better player for most of the two sets. He was playing smart. He was great on the backline. He was changing the pace of the ball and moving me around,” the 31-year-old Serbian explained.
“All the credit to him for a great match and I really wish him all the best in Australia,” Djokovic said.
“At my end I was in a corner. I had to find my way and fight my way through. Like I said luckily I made that break in the 10th game of the second set. I was lucky to hit the line. It was a very close call and that was the turning point,” he added.
“Absolutely,” Djokovic said when asked if the fans played a big part in his recovery.
“Thank you guys for your support,” he added while facing the cheering crowd.
“I appreciate it. I really needed it obviously. I was playing a player who was really hitting the ball so well,” he added.
“I congratulate him on a great performance.
“On the other hand I take positives from this match. I played for almost two hours. I am getting on court soon as I will play with my brother (in the doubles),” Djokovic said with a smile.
It was Djokovic’s second win over Fucsovics in as many games but the match was a thriller. Both players retained their services until the 9th game in the first set when an unforced error after a long return by Djokovic allowed Fucsovics to surge ahead at 5-4. The Hungarian retained his serve in game 10 to take the first set in 40 minutes.
In the second set a similar pattern followed until the 10th game when Djokovic broke Fucsovics with a ‘lucky’ shot that was decided by TV replay at duece. Once Djokovic got that lucky break, he did not look back and sealed the second and third sets with ease as a tiring Fucsovics struggled for returns. Djokovic fired 6 aces in his three-set win.
In the quarter-final today, Djokovic will play Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili who stunned Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-3, 6-4 in the third match on Centre Court yesterday. Basilashvili, 26, fired 8 aces as he wrapped up the match in just 61 minutes of aggressive tennis. It was the first meeting between the two young players. Rublev, 21, was the losing finalist in Doha last year.
Earlier yesterday, Wawrinka played a controlled game from the baseline to seal his win in 88 minutes against 23-year-old Jarry. It was Wawrinka’s second successive win after the Swiss beat Russia’s Karen Khachanovin the first round.
