By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Novak Djokovic did not face a break point dismissing Canadian wild card Peter Polansky, 6-3, 6-4, scoring his ninth straight win in Toronto.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Dabbing a drop shot, Novak Djokovic dragged Peter Polansky forward then poked a backhand down the line prompting the Toronto native to reverse course and sprint all the way to the back wall in determined pursuit.
That sequence summed up today's Toronto second-round match.
Djokovic: Toughest Test In Sport
A pesky Polansky nearly drove himself up the wall extending rallies, but Djokovic was one step ahead exterminating them in a 6-3, 6-4 sweep.
The Wimbledon champion showed soft touch scoring his ninth straight win.
Probing short angles with his slice backhand, Djokovic made good use of the drop shot luring the Candian wild card into awkward positions on court.
Djokovic drilled seven aces, dropped just six points on his first serve and did not face a break point in a one hour, 24-minute victory.
"I thought I served well in the moments when I really need it and I was looking for the first serve," Djokovic told the media in Toronto. "I thought I found, you know, pretty good accuracy and angles with the first serve, and also second serve worked pretty well.
"You know, overall game was so-and-so. In the moments when, you know, I probably needed to step it up, I did, and it was just enough to win in straight sets."
The four-time Rogers Cup champion has scored two wins this week after falling in the first round at Indian Wells, to 109th-ranked Taro Daniel, and Miami where he bowed to 47th-ranked Benoit Paire.
Djokovic said sharper serving and confidence that comes from winning major matches have been keys to his winning streak.
"I think it's consistency," Djokovic told the media in Toronto. "You know, if I have to choose a shot, it would probably be serve. You know, I think I served very well in Wimbledon, the fastest surface in our sport, where a lot of the tactics are dependent on how accurately and how well you serve."
Continuing his quest for his second title of the season, Djokovic will face either seventh-seeded Dominic Thiem or Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas for a quarterfinal spot.
Clad in a black baseball cap, blue t-shirt devoid of a sponsor brand and plain black shorts, the bespectacled Polansky was dressed liked a hacker who wandered in from some nearby public courts.
Looks can be deceiving.
The 30-year-old Canadian veteran played like he belonged, holding his own in baseline rallies and wrapping a love hold to level at 3-all.
Pushed to deuce in the seventh game, Djokovic showed the full-shot spectrum from his forehand.
Spreading the court with the inside-out forehand, Djokovic hit the drive forehand volley and some shorter, sharper crosscourt angles working his way through the hold for 4-3.
Then the ninth-seeded Serbian turned it up, racing out to a triple break point lead.
A rattled Polansky capped a putrid game with a double fault, gifting the break and a 5-3 lead to the favorite.
The four-time Rogers Cup champion steered a backhand winner down the line snatching a one-set lead after 34 minutes.
After seeing Polansky struggle with smashes earlier in the match, Djokovic shrewdly teased the Canadian with a high lob.
Retreating back to the baseline quickly, Polansky sprayed a bounce-smash wide to face triple break point in the ninth game.
Polansky saved all three break points then fended off a fourth. A resolute Djokovic dotted the baseline with a return, eventually earning a fifth break point.
Stretching the Canadian on his forehand, Djokovic drew the error breaking for 5-4.
Digging out of a 15-30 hole in the following game, Djokovic twisted two aces down the T then thumped a smash for match point.
Banging a body serve, the 31-year-old Serbian closed in one hour, 24 minutes, raising his record to 27-9 on the season.