Top-seeded Novak Djokovic was at his very best in his first ATP match in 2 1/2 months as he overpowered Pablo Andujar with a convincing 6-0, 6-3 win on Thursday to sail into the quarterfinals of the Tel Aviv Open in Israel.
In his first tour match since winning Wimbledon on July 10, the Serbian served eight aces among his 29 victories and had just eight unforced mistakes. Throughout the 87-minute encounter, Djokovic effortlessly broke Andujar’s serve four times.
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Djokovic skipped the recent U.S. hardcourt circuit because he was unable to participate. Due to his COVID-19 immunisation history, open. Vasek Pospisil, a Canadian lucky loser who defeated Israeli qualifier Edan Leshem with ease (6-3, 6-2), will be Djokovic’s next opponent.
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Among other victories, Arthur Rinderknech of France defeated third-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7) while hitting 35 winners and saving a match point.
British qualifier Liam Broady scored a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over No. 5 seed Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, and France’s Constant Lestienne took down Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 6-4, 6-2.
Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler ripped 46 winners and committed just eight unforced errors while posting a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over second-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain to reach the quarterfinals in Bulgaria.
Huesler won 89.2 percent of his first-serve points while pulling off the stunning win. He will next face Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, who beat eighth-seeded German Oscar Otte 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
In other matches involving seeded players, top-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Portugal’s Nuno Borges, and fifth-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark beat Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-3.
