Merciless Djokovic Obliterates Lorenzi To Move On
By Robert Martin
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Photo Credit: Mark Peterson / Corleve
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(January 16, 2012) World No. 1 Novak Djokovic did not waste any time in blasting Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi off the court 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 in just 92 minutes. The Serbian stormed through the last 17 straight games to move forward on a day that saw much of the action go as expected.
Despite taking some time off following his exhibition win in Abu Dhabi, Djokovic showed little rust in his short time on court. Lorenzi included plenty of his own contributions to the top seed, spraying 30 errors to only 10 winners on a day of tough conditions.
With winds whipping up to 35 miles per hour, Djokovic was relentless against the serve of Lorenzi, winning 93 percent of points on the Italian’s second serve and 44 percent on the first. The win gives Djokovic his first official win of the 2012 season and advances him to the second round where he will meet Santiago Giraldo, a 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 winner over Matteo Viola.
Other straight set winners early on day two included Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils, and 5th-seeded David Ferrer. The Spaniard showed off his impressive return, winning 53 percent of receiving points and converting seven of nine break opportunities.
Most importantly to his success, Ferrer hit a solid percentage of first serves at 59 percent, winning 85 percent of the time. His opponent, Rui Machado, offered numerous donations to Ferrer’s cause in the form of 52 unforced errors over the 1 hour 44 minute match.
Ferrer will move on to face Ryan Sweeting, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over Matthias Bachinger of Germany.
It was not a spectacular performance from World No. 4 Andy Murray, but a solid return game helped dismiss young American Ryan Harrison 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The windy conditions gave the Scot trouble as he hit only 54 percent of first serves in play.
Aggressive returning allowed Murray to keep pressure on Harrison and led to five breaks of serve and 41 percent of return points won.
On Margaret Court Arena, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was tested by Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory. The Frenchman caused many of his own problems, hitting only 49 percent of first serves along with 45 unforced errors in the near three-hour match.
Seeds Andy Roddick, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet, Kei Nishikori, among others, also advanced to the second round.