Defending Champion Qatar ExxonMobil Open Teenis Tournament Novak Djokovic, Serbian national beat Jan-Lennard Struff from Germany by 7-6, 6-3 in his first round match in Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex today evening.

Djokovitch was down 1-5 in the first set during his opening match against Jan-Lennard Struff, World ranked No. 63, had come out attacking and this had unsettled Djokovic. But then the gears clicked and the Serb won five games in a row to snuff out the possibility of a challenge.

There was a minor hiccup when Struff won the 12th game to make it 6-6. But Djokovic dominated the tiebreaker,
and took the first set. With this fightback under his belt, the spectators at the Khalifa Complex knew
that the second set would be a mere formality for Djokovic. And it was. The world No. 2 won his first match 7-6 (1), 6-3 to register his first win of 2017.

“I needed more time to get the engine started I guess. It’s my first match of the year. You never know how you’re going to start,” said Djokovic. “As well as you have trained in the preparation period and the days prior to the tournament, it’s a diff erent scenario when you are out there on the courts amidst the crowd,” he added.

Djokovic acknowledged that the aggressive approach from Struff helped in his opponent gaining the initial upper
hand. “I was a bit flat on my feet, and Struff , credit to him for playing aggressive, hitting the serves well, and ripping the ball from the baseline. Also things were coming in, so that resulted in a 1-5 deficit.”

“I stayed composed because I knew, I believed that I could find the rhythm. I started reading his serve better, and that’s what happened,” added Djokovic. “I can certainly play better. But, again, it’s fi rst match of the year. I know that I can’t be at my top the very fi rst match, but I believe that the process is right.”

Qatar ExxonMobil Open defending 2016 Crown holder Djokovic said that it was his previous experience in such situations that helped him emerge victorious. “In these particular circumstances, you just need to fi nd a way. I’ve been in these situations before many times in my life, and I think the experience of knowing what to do, you know, in what particular moment helps.”

Djokovic’s next opponent will be Horacio Zeballos (Argentine), Wiorld ranked 71st. Horacio Zeballos defeated Horacio Zeballos (German) today.

Marcos Baghdatis (Cyrpus) lost against Radek Stepanek with the scoreline at 6-4, 5-3.

David Goffin faced a tough first set against Robin Haase won by 7-6, 6-2

Mubarak Shannan Zayid (Qatar) partnering Tunisian Malek Jaziri, lost their doubles first round match to the French team of Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 2-6, 3-6. Zayid will be facing Karen Khachanov (Russian) tomorrow in singles.

World No. 1 Andy Murray (UK) in partnership with Mariusz Fyrstenberg (Poland) lost 2-6, 4-6 to Spanish-Serbian pair of David Morreno and Nenad Zimonjic. From Murray’s perspective, it will be a good way to get some court
practice.

Andy Murray will have his first single fight with Jeremy Chardy (French) tomorrow 0730 PM Qatar Time.