Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic survived a stern test at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday afternoon, defeating rising Croatian star Borna Coric 7-6, 7-5 in two hours and 15 minutes.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion, who entered the tournament after parting ways with his coaches Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek, showed glimpses of the form that once made him the best player in the world. After a tough hold in the opening game of the match, Djokovic’s dexterity and his world class defense helped him in gaining a 4-1 lead as Coric buckled under pressure and made a series of unforced errors.
However, the Serbian wasn’t able to sustain the momentum and Coric quickly put the match back on level terms at 4-4. The pivotal moment of the set, though came in the 11th game as Djokovic had his backs to the wall, facing two break points and Coric had a golden opportunity to seize one of those break chances.
With Djokovic left stranded on the off side of the court, Coric had the entire court open to hit a forehand but he could only send the ball long. Eventually, Djokovic held serve before the set went into a tie-breaker, where he played the big points exceptionally well to claim it in 64 minutes.
The second set followed a similar script with Djokovic in the ascendency early on as he strolled to a 5-3 lead. But more drama was to be seen in the ninth game as Coric saved two match points on his own serve, forcing Djokovic to serve for the match in the next game.
Ninth seeded Novak looked to be in total control of his destiny as he brought up three more match points, with the score reading 40-0 in the 10th game. An ultra aggressive Coric though had other ideas as he eventually saved nine match points in total to draw level yet again.
Just when it seemed the momentum has swung Coric’s way, out of nowhere Djokovic came up with a flurry of heavy ground-strokes, displaying a perfect example of power and precision as he broke again for 6-5 before sealing his spot in the third round of the tournament, where he will face Dominic Thiem of Austria on Thursday.