Novak Djokovic played his first match on US soil in two years, and it was a losing effort in the doubles at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters with Nikola Cacic.
Djokovic elected to sign up for the doubles of the Cincinnati Masters presumably to have a light introduction to competitive tennis again. The Serbian hasn't played since the Wimbledon final, and it will take him a while to find his best form.
It was a pretty solid effort overall from the Serbian team, but they were facing a much better doubles pairing in Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, and it showed. Djokovic predictably had some great moments, but overall they couldn't really match their opponents.
It wasn't the first time Djokovic and Cacic played doubles together as they did it for Serbian in the Davis Cup however, this year's team won't feature Cacic. Novak Djokovic is there, hopeful of leading the team to the knockout stages of the Final.
When it comes to this match specifically, it was a pretty competitive opening set. A few things made the difference. Murray and Venus served better and lost only 3 points behind their first serve. The second serve wasn't that great, but the first one allowed them to save all three break points they saved.
Cacic and Djokovic didn't serve as well as their opponents and allowed more points on their serve, failing to save the break point as well. The second set was pretty much similar in that regard, as the British/Kiwi combination took a break midway through the set and then held it for the rest of the match.
The final score was 6-3 6-2 for Murray and Venus, as Djokovic shifts focus to the singles after a very solid practice match in the doubles. He will either face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
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