A fired up Novak Djokovic cruised past tricky American qualifier Mitchell Krueger 6-3 6-2 6-2 to set up a second round meeting with Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
The world number one was fired up and emotional as he made the second round with a comfortable win over Mitchell Krueger.
The American possessed a unique style which troubled Djokovic in certain parts of the match but the six time champion held firm to win another match at the Australian Open.
Next up for the top seed is a match with Jo-Wilfred Tsonga after the 2008 finalist progressed with a straight sets win over Martin Klizan.
Although it was a comfortable win for the Serb, he didn’t have it all his own way as the American struck an early blow in the first set for a 2-1 lead.
A unique style was brought to court from Krueger, who liked to come forward and finish points off at the net a lot of the time.
However the American was too predictable a lot of the time and Djokovic pounced on that like a great champion does as he broke straight back.
From that moment onwards it was Djokovic’s to lose as he sealed the opening set in 36 minutes as he looked to take the world number 230 to task.
Despite the comfortable lead Djokovic seemed frustrated at some of his decision making and expected better from his exceptionally high standards.
Two breaks of serve were enough in the second set as he stormed into a two sets lead without reaching his top two gears.
The third set was once again frustrating for Djokovic as he couldn’t break down a stubborn Krueger as the American wowed the crowd with some good shots.
Eventually though Djokovic broke on two more occasions to seal a comfortable straight sets win and make the second round of the Australian Open.
After the match Djokovic explained that he didn’t know much about the unknown American, “Playing Krueger for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect. I tried to do my homework but it’s very different playing him. We were both pumped, there were lots of emotions on the court. I enjoyed the match.”
The win means he sets up a rematch of the 2008 final with Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who defeated Martin Klizan 6-4 6-4 7-6(5). It will be Djokovic’s first real test of the tournament which will give viewers an idea of how far the Serb can really go.
