No 1 Djokovic cruises into Ruond Two

Updated on: 18 January,2012 09:34 AM IST |
PA Sport |

Djokovic glad he beat the heat in scorching Melbourne with huge Rd 1 win over Lorenzi

Djokovic glad he beat the heat in scorching Melbourne with huge Rd 1 win over Lorenzi

It took just four games for defending champion Novak Djokovic to brush off any early-season rust and cruise into the second round of the Australian Open yesterday.

Showman: Serb ace Novak Djokovic plays a trick shot. Pic/Getty Images

The World No 1, playing his first ranking event of the season, looked sluggish early on in his encounter with Italian Paolo Lorenzi, dropping his second service game to trail 2-1.

But he broke back immediately to level it at 2-2 and then upped the tempo to run through the next 16 games and secure an emphatic 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 victory.

"It took me a couple of games to find my rhythm but I think I played well after the first set," he said. His Italian opponent posed few questions but the searing heat in Melbourne did provide Djokovic with the odd headache.

He said: "I just need a bit more time to get used to them (the conditions) because the last 10 days or so since I arrived in Melbourne it was quite cold and very windy.

Today was around 35 degrees so it took a bit of time to get used to the heat. Still I'm quite happy with how I'm handling it physically."

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