Novak Djokovic faced a very difficult test in the second round of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters as he clashed with a player that had nothing to lose.
Ivan Gahkov is ranked 198th in the world and he went through the qualifying to book his main draw spot in Monte Carlo. After Brandon Nakashima, who was set to take on Mackenzie McDonald in the first round, was forced to withdraw from the tournament, Gakhov was matched with McDonald as the two fought for the second-round match against Djokovic.
After his win, the Russian spoke highly about the 22-time Grand Slam champion and called him the best player in the world, but once they stepped onto the court, he showed no excessive respect as he showed the world that he can play a very high-level tennis.
In the first set, Gakhov even broke the Serb and led 4-3 after he used one of the three break points that he had. But Djokovic, with all of his experience, was able to break back and eventually force a tie-break in the first set.
The 35-year-old had to fight also in the tie-break, but eventually controlled it and won 7-5. The start of the second set was very close too, but in the fifth game, Djokovic took full control of the match and never looked back.
After an hour and 48 minutes, the first-seeded Serb won 7-6(5), 6-2 to advance to the third round of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters. Up next, he will be challenged by one of the Italians as the 16th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti is set to take on Luca Nardi.
After the match, Djokovic put on his famous jacket from Melbourne that rocks number 22 as the number of Grand Slam trophies that he lifted in his career. Showing huge respect for his opponent during a handshake, Ghakov said:
"You are the best, I hope to play more matches with you."
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