Dubai, March 2 (IANS) World no 1 Novak Djokovic eased into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a comfortable win over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, here.
Having been pushed to a final-set tie-break in his opening match, Djokovic appeared near his best in the second match when he dismantled Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday night to enter the last eight stage of ATP 500 tournament.
The 35-year-old crashed 29 winners in a scintillating display of baseline hitting. Griekspoor, who entered the match with a 12-3 record for the season, could do little to counter Djokovic’s charge, as the Serbian comfortably maintained his record of never having lost before the quarter-finals in 13 appearances in Dubai.
“(My level was) much closer to the best level tonight than it was yesterday,” Djokovic was quoted by ATP Tour. “I probably didn’t expect to play that well tonight, considering last night’s match. But here we go, every day is a new day, a new opportunity, and I’m really glad that I played this well tonight.”
With the win, Djokovic improved his ATP head-to-head series lead against Griekspoor to 2-0, after he also defeated the Dutchman in straight sets at the 2021 US Open.
“He’s (Griekspoor) got a lot of firepower in his game. His serve and forehand, those are two of his favourite shots. He tries to dictate the points from the back of the court with the forehand, and I knew that I had to take the time away from him,” Djokovic added.
The Serb will take on fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz of POland in the quarterfinal.
In another match, Daniil Medvedev showcased a rock-solid performance to defeat Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-2 for his 11th straight tour-level victory.
The 27-year-old Medvedev is bidding for his third ATP Tour title in as many weeks after his triumphs in Rotterdam and Doha, and he did not face a breakpoint in his 65-minute victory against Bublik in Dubai.
Medvedev remains unbeaten in five tour-level meetings with Bublik. It is just one of a number of dominant ATP Head to Head records the 27-year-old holds against some of the top players on the Tour.
The 17-time tour-level titlist Medvedev does not have such a convincing record against his next opponent, Borna Coric, in Dubai.
Coric, who beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 to set a quarterfinal clash against the third seed, leads Medvedev 4-2 in their ATP head-to-head record.
–IANS
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