World No.1 Novak Djokovic has secured his 11th win of the season after battling past American qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo 7-6(5), 6-2, in his opening match at the BNP Paribas Open.
The top seed, who is bidding for a record sixth title in Indian Wells this year, was tested early on in the match before easing to victory. During the opening set, Djokovic was trailing 3-5 before fighting back to level at 5-5. Going on to clinch the tiebreaker before breaking Fratangelo twice more in the second set to book a place in the third round.
“I was a bit rusty in the first set. I was kind of waiting for him to do something with the ball rather than doing it myself.” Djokovic evaluated about his performance.
“That resulted in a very close first set, and I was fortunate to get through that one.”
“Credit to him (Fratangelo) for serving well and taking the ball on the rise and just dictating the play. He was the one that was really aggressive and dictating the points from the back of the court for the entire first set probably.”
In what was his first match since winning his 15th grand slam title at the Australian Open, Djokovic produced a total of 28 winners to 20 unforced errors. Winning 76% of his first service points and converting three out of his five break point opportunities. The victory is his 50th in the tournament’s history.
Watching from the sidelines was Pete Sampras, who is one of Djokovic’s idols. 47-year-old Sampras was a two-time winner in Indian Wells during the 1990s. Following the completion of the match, Djokovic went over to shake the hand of the former world No.1.
“I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I don’t get to see Pete that often. I was pleasantly surprised to see him watching my match.” Said Djokovic.
“It’s a thrill, obviously, to see someone that I looked up to when I was a kid. I think I tried too hard in the first set to impress him. It bounced back against me in a way.
“But it was really nice, and I went up to him and I thanked him for coming. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to see him privately, as well.”
Balancing tennis and politics
Besides his performances on the court, the Serbian has caught the attention of many for his activities away from it. Djokovic is currently serving as the president of the ATP Players Council. Earlier this year, he was mentioned as one of the key figures calling for a change to the structure of the governing body of men’s tennis. Recently, CEO Chris Kermode was ousted from his position, but Djokovic has stayed neutral when questioned if he supported the decision or not.
“I take the role of a member of a council or president of a council very seriously, and I try to contribute as best as I can. I mean, we all make mistakes. It’s not my natural environment, so to say, but I am ready to learn and I’m open-minded.” He said about balancing tennis with politics.
“I care about the current generation and also the future generation and future of this sport. I really do. I think that sport is doing well, but it can also do better and better, you know, as we go along.”
“In the end of the day, in order to not just fight for players’ rights and position and so forth, but just work together with tournaments to create an even better world than it is today for world of tennis, for all of us.” He added.
Amid the Kermode fallout, the selection process is continuing for the future host of the ATP Finals. London has hosted the season-ending event since 2009 at The O2 Arena. Although they are locked in a battle with countries such as Japan and Italy to host the event from 2021 onwards. In 2018 243,819 spectators attended the event. A decrease of 9,823 when compared to the previous year.
“I think that actually last year the last World Tour Finals, wasn’t as good attendance-wise as most of the other years. So that was also an indicator that maybe people — maybe it’s time to change, maybe not. I don’t know. We’ll see at the end of this year how is it going to be.” Concluded a diplomatically speaking Djokovic.
“London is one of the biggest, most popular cities in the world in general but also for tennis, the city that has Wimbledon. And obviously because of Wimbledon you have tradition and history and you have the culture of tennis.
“So people do nurture their culture of tennis, and that’s why we have experienced some super-star events in O2 over the years.”
In Indian Wells, Djokovic will take on Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round. A player who he leads 8-1 in their head-to-head.
