Novak Djokovic has moved into the third round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters after beating Marin Cilic in straight sets 7-6 (2), 6-4.
The match lasted just under two hours. Serbia’s top player stayed focused during the key moments and closed out the match without much trouble.
This was the 22nd time Novak and Cilic have played each other. With this win, Djokovic now leads their H2H record 20-2.
The first set was very close, with both players holding their serves. In the 11th game, Novak had to save two break points, which he did, and then he took control in the tie-break, winning it 7-2 to take the set.
In the second set, Novak raised his level and made very few mistakes. He broke Cilic’s serve early in the third game and kept the lead until the end, even though he had to save two more break points in the final game.
“I struggled to find my rhythm from the baseline,” admitted Djokovic. “I lacked some matches — my last one was at the US Open — so I got a really tough opener against Marin, who when is feeling the ball, is so dangerous and can beat anybody. He didn’t give me time to breathe, so I think I dug myself out of trouble with good serving, which obviously makes me happy.”
In the next round, Novak will face German player Yannick Hanfmann, currently ranked 150th in the world. Hanfmann caused an upset in the second round by beating 25th seed Frances Tiafoe in three sets.
They have met once before, earlier this year in Geneva, where Novak won 6-3, 6-3.
Their third-round match is scheduled on Sunday.
Photo: Profimedia
