-Toronto, Canada
Novak Djokovic is safely into the 3rd Round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a relatively easy 6-3, 6-4 victory over local favourite Peter Polansky. The four-time champion looked very loose during the match with the Canadian smiling, bouncing balls off his head and having fun with the ball kids during the one hour and 24 minute match.
Djokovic didn’t look to be in any trouble throughout. He never faced a break point at any time. He did however, play a few loose shots especially in the first set. The two players holding serve throughout the first seven games but the defending Wimbledon champ had 14 unforced errors during that stretch.
Polansky, from nearby North York, was keeping up with Djokovic until the eighth game of the first set when the 30-year old came up with a disastrous service game. Two forehands long, a backhand long followed by a double fault gave the World No. 10 the only break he needed to solidify the opening set.
The same scenario played out in the second set although Polansky’s service disaster came in the ninth game instead. The World No. 121 missed a routine overhead and then a backhand wide and a forehand long gave Djokovic another break.
Djokovic closed out match on his next service game winning for the 14th time in the last 15 matches.
“I thought I served well in the moments when I really needed it,” said Djokovic, “and I was looking for the first serve. I thought I found pretty good accuracy and angles with the first serve, and also second serve worked pretty well. Overall game was so-and-so. In the moments when I probably needed to step it up, I did, and it was just enough to win in straight sets.”
Djokovic finished with 23 winners and 29 unforced errors. He won 83-perfecent of his first serve points and won all six of his points at the net.
His opponent in the next round will be a tough one, either Dominic Them or Stefanos Tsitsipas.