By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Novak Djokovic shook off the rust defeating Thomaz Bellucci, 6-3, 7-6 (4), in his Rogers Cup return to earn his 250th career Masters victory.
Photo credit: Sporting Life
Squeaking sneakers amplified the intensity of running exchanges in the tie break tonight. Winless in three prior meetings with Novak Djokovic, Thomaz Bellucci stayed right in step with the world No. 1—and then he went airborne.
The lanky Brazilian laid out for a diving angled drop volley. It would have been the shot of the night against most players on most nights. Djokovic isn't most players even on his comeback night.
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Dashing forward, Djokovic flicked a forehand winner down the line, turning Bellucci's brilliance into a set-up shot for his slick response.
In his first match since successfully defending his Wimbledon title a month ago, Djokovic shook off the rust of inactivity and swung through an intractable opponent in an entertaining return. The top-seed scored a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory in his Rogers Cup opener, extending his Masters 1000 winning streak to 27 matches.
It was a milestone moment for a man who has dominated Masters events. Djokovic earned his 250th career Masters 1000 victory, third on the all-time list behind only Roger Federer (321), who is not playing this week, and three-time Rogers Cup champion Rafael Nadal (294), who meets Sergiy Stakhovsky in his opener tomorrow.
Raising his record to 49-3 on the season, Djokovic awaits the winner of tomorrow's clash between Jack Sock and 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in the third round.
It wasn't a flawless performance: Djokovic converted just one of seven break-point chances and erupted in a primal scream of anguish after failing to return a body serve. But the three-time former champion showed plenty of positives as well, denying all five break points he faced, moving more fluidly as the match progressed, hitting some tremendous running shots and keeping calm at critical stages.
Djokovic has won the last five Masters events he's entered, but was greeted by Bellucci's vicious lefty forehand from the first game. Djokovic dug out of a break point in the opening game when Bellucci banged a mid-court backhand into the middle of the net.
The degree of difficulty the 33rd-ranked Brazilian faced—even against a rusty foe—was evident in the second game when the Wimbledon champion curled a running forehand pass from about eight feet behind the baseline leaving his opponent lunging at air.
Bellucci spent 11 minutes navigating his opening service game and several seconds toweling off the sweat streaming over his arms and legs afterward. That struggled loosened the Brazilian up a bit.
Pressuring the top seed with the depth of his shots, Bellucci earned break point in the fifth game. Djokovic answered with a sweet drop shot-lob volley combination sending his opponent scurrying back to the baseline for a failed tweener. Djokovic saved a third break point with a smash, working through a seven-and-a-half minute game for 3-2.
A deep return rattled a netted backhand giving Djokovic triple break point in the eighth game. Bellucci tomahawked successive aces to erase the first two break points. On the third, Djokovic blocked back a twisting kick serve. Bellucci was a bit heavy-handed with a forehand drop shot, the top seed burst up to the ball quickly sliding into a forehand flick, breaking for 5-3 with a clenched fist toward the crowd.
Swooping forward for a forehand swing volley, Djokovic served out the 52-minute opener at love. Finding his range and rhythm, he grew stronger as the set progressed. Djokovic committed 16 unforced errors in the first four games; he did not commit an unforced error in the final five games.
A devoted clay-courter, Bellucci had posted just two of his 22 wins this season on hard court and took the court with just one career Rogers Cup victory. But when he finds the groove with that whiplash left-forehand and maintains his court positioning, Bellucci can be dangerous. In the seventh game, he saved a pair of break points—the first with a biting serve into the hip that left Djokovic wailing and the second zapping an inside-out forehand winner—to hold for 4-3.
Sweating profusely nearly 90 minutes into the match, he left-hander threw down his first love hold for 5-4.
Serving at 5-6, 0-30, Djokovic produced some of his boldest tennis of the night, including a curling forehand winner, to force the tie break.
The diving Bellucci volley looked like a highlight-reel winner until Djokovic ran it down and flicked his forehand down the line for a 4-2 lead. Grinding out a 28-shot rally, he stretched the lead to 5-2. On his third match point, Djokovic closed when Bellucci sent a backhand long.