Underwhelming performances have been nothing out of the ordinary for Novak Djokovic in 2017. With his entire support team having been fired last week, Djokovic turned in another such effort at the Mutua Madrid Open. But–most importantly–he won.
The world No. 2 survived a roller-coaster ride against Nicolas Almagro, prevailing 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 during second-round action on Wednesday afternoon. Djokovic needed two hours and 15 minutes to set up a Thursday date with Feliciano Lopez.
“Obviously when you’re not winning too many matches, you have to build the confidence level,” Djokovic explained. “So to win matches like this definitely helps confidence.
“[Almagro] loves playing on clay. He was obviously motivated. He has a lot of strength in his shots, a lot of precision. He can, from both corners, hit equally well. If he doesn’t make many mistakes, he can really beat anyone. But I hung in there and knew that eventually I’m going to get my chances and going to get some looks on the second serves. When they were presented, I was ready to use them.
“I’m still finding my way to that consistency level and quality of tennis that I’m looking for,” Djokovic admitted. “I’m aware that I’m not playing at my best, but I’m definitely believing in myself and the process. Eventually, the game will come together.”
Djokovic-Almagro highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG-J4Wsnj8o
Madrid’s second seed is joined in the last 16 by four-time champion Rafael Nadal, who scraped past Fabio Fognini 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4. Nadal improved to 9-3 lifetime against Fognini after two hours and 57 minutes.
The Spaniard sprayed an unusual number of unforced errors and failed to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third set, but a break at 5-4 brought a merciful end to the topsy-turvy tilt.
“I think that even though I played really badly, my attitude [was] very positive,” Nadal reflected. “My attitude and the will to win today’s match was there. My level of tennis was not so high today, but I managed to make it through. It was uncomfortable. I think before it wasn’t so windy, but when I started playing it was a really awful day. It was really windy.”
Nadal-Fognini highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEi8sCr-584
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less than stellar
Brief and right to the point!
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