Novak Djokovic labours amid ‘awful’ Alexander Zverev drama in Monte Carlo

Novak Djokovic (pictured right) won his opening match at Monte Carlo and Alexander Zverev (pictured left) overcame an injury scare. (Images: @TennisTV/Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic has battled to his first win in five weeks after winning his opening match at the Monte Carlo Masters, while Alexander Zverev overcame an injury scare to win on his return to clay. Djokovic hasn’t played tennis since his semi-final loss to Daniil Medvedev in Dubai back in March.

All eyes were on the top seed heading into Monte Carlo with the World No.1 heavy favourite due to the absence of both Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. And in his hunt for a 39th Masters title and a third Monte Carlo title, Djokovic was able to overcome qualifier Ivan Gakhov 7-6 6-2.

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However, Djokovic showed signs of rust after five weeks off and was pushed all the way in the first set in his return to clay. But the No.1 seed took his game to the next level in the second and was able to reach the third round.

After the match, Djokovic told his opponent at the net it was a ‘delight’ to play him in an exciting clash. This prompted Gakhov to label Djokovic as the ‘best’. “It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today,” Djokovic said as he looks to extend his Masters record.

“I haven’t played my best, particularly in the first set. And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions.

“It’s different practising and then playing an official match on clay. But all in all, I’m just pleased with the way I held my nerves I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win.”

Djokovic now sets up a clash with either Italian Lorenzo Musetti or compatriot Luca Nardi in the third round.

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Alexander Zverev takes scary fall in Monte Carlo

Meanwhile, Zverev survived a scary tumble against Alexander Bublik to reach the third round in Monte Carlo. Zverev hadn’t played a match on clay since injuring his ankle in the Roland Garros semi-final against Nadal last year.

And the German faced another scare when he was chasing a shot from Bublik, which saw him fall backwards on the baseline. While he remained down for a moment, the German got up and acknowledged his opponent in a good sign for the 25-year-old.

Alexander Zverev (pictured) battled past Alexander Bublik in their Monte Carlo match. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

While he survived the tumble, his life wasn’t made any easier as he was pushed all the way to overcome Bublik in three sets with the Kazakhstan player’s tactics of slicing the ball disrupting the big-hitting German. Zverev lost the first set, but overcame Bublik 3-6 6-2 6-4 to advance.

“It felt awful at times to be honest, but he made me feel awful,” Zverev said after the match “Tactically he played well, he didn’t let me play my game at all. He didn’t let me have my rhythm and he almost won the match, just a few points here and there.”

Fans acknowledged the importance of Zverev’s win on his return to clay, which signals a potential grand slam push for the German for the first time since his injury last year in the French Open semi-final.

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Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev defeated Spaniard Jaume Munar 4-6 6-2 6-2 to overcome a tricky second round match. “The feeling was, ‘No way, I might be out in the first round of Monaco’,” Rublev said. He will go on to face either fellow Russian Khachanov, Dan Evans or qualifier Ilya Ivashka in the third round.

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