In his convincing 6-1 6-1 victory over Cristian Garin in the first round of the Astana Open, Novak Djokovic claimed to have "played as well as I can."
In this match, Djokovic left very little to the imagination because the game's tone was established early on and never changed. Given the circumstances, it made the Serbian incredibly happy:
“From the start to the end it was a great performance. Playing in a new tournament in different conditions, first match, it’s never easy. You are looking to see how you can adapt but I did it perfectly really. I played as well as I can, just made him work and used every opportunity that was presented to me.”
A noticeably slow court in Astana gave many players problems including Alcaraz who was beaten by Goffin in round one. For Djokovic the adjustment was easier: “I was lucky that throughout my career I was pretty good to adjusting to different conditions and surfaces. I think that experience comes with knowing what to do."
“Winning a tournament, losing in a final or a semi-final makes a difference mentally. Coming into this tournament, I feel excited and motivated so I think that helps to adjust quickly.” concluded Djokovic who plays Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round.
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