|
 Bellucci, with just one win in five visits to Canada and coming off
a first-round loss at Washington, appeared to be the perfect
opponent for Djokovic to launch his buildup to the U.S. Open but
provided a stiff test for the Serb.
"Match could have gone either way, honestly, especially in the
second set," Djokovic told reporters after battling Bellucci for an
hour and 50 minutes. "But we both had our chances to break. We got
to the tiebreak, which I thought was fair, then it was anybody's
game.
"It's the first hard-court match for me from Miami earlier this year
in March. It takes a little bit of time to get into the rhythm, get
into the groove."
The top seed in Canada for the fifth straight year, Djokovic saved
all three break points he faced in a tight opening set.
The Serb, who narrowly missed out on a fourth Canada title last year
after losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final, also saved two
break points in the second as the set went to a tie break, which he
quickly took control of and took 7-4 to register his 250th world
tour Masters 1000 match win.
Only three players have beaten Djokovic in 2015 -- Ivo Karlovic,
Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka.
For the second straight night, late action was suspended at the
Rogers Cup. World number three Andy Murray had his match with Tommy
Robredo postponed with the duel even at 4-4 in the first set.
[to top of second column] |
In first-round action, Tsonga opened his title defense with a 6-4
6-4 win over Croatian teenager Borna Coric in a rain-interrupted
match that began on Monday.
Czech Lukas Rosol upset South African 12th seed Kevin Anderson
7-6(2) 7-6(4) while Bulgarian 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov, a
semi-finalist last year, advanced 6-4 7-5 against Ukrainian
qualifier Alexandr Dologopolov.
Belgian 13th seed David Goffin beat American Steve Johnson 6-2 6-2,
leaving John Isner to carry the United States flag into the second
round, the 16th seed blasting 23 aces past Germany's Benjamin Becker
in a 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 win.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Peter
Rutherford/Amlan Chakraborty)
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