Former world number one Novak Djokovic showed no signs of rustiness as he made a strong start to the Rogers Cup in his first contest on the ATP Tour since winning Wimbledon last month.
The Serbian looked back to his best at SW19 last month as he won his first Grand Slam since taking time out due to an elbow injury last month.
Djokovic had been set to play South Korea’s Chung Hyeon but he withdrew due to back issues. Lucky loser Mirza Basic stepped in but was unable to advance as Djokovic won 6-3 7-6 inside just 90 minutes. Djokovic was not at his best during the contest and he admits it was difficult to work out a new opponent. “I’ve never played Basic.
I’ve known him, I’ve practised with him, but I’ve never played an official match so definitely not easy to find a rhythm from the beginning of the match,” said Djokovic. “There were frustrations at times but that means I care.”
He will now take on Canadian Peter Polansky in the second round on Wednesday and a 2-1 win for the Serb is 4.50. Japan star Kei Nishikori was in poor form and suffered a shock defeat to Dutchman Robin Haase.
He lost serve on five occasions, with Haase firing home 11 aces on his way to a 7-5 6-1 win. Sam Querrey beat Adrian Mannarino of France 6-2 7-5, while Stan Wawrinka secured a 1-6 7-5 7-5 win over Nick Kyrgios just weeks after surgery on his knee.
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