Superb Djokovic allows Garin only 2 games as he cruises to 2nd round in Astana
ATP
Novak Djokovic is only the fourth seed at the 2022 Astana Open, but he's certainly the biggest favorite, as he proved in the opening match against Cristian Garin.
In 2022, the Serbian played only 34 matches. In the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, only Rafael Nadal played fewer tournaments than Djokovic.
Therefore, Djokovic wasn't used to playing many back-to-back events this year, but he was ready to start playing a lot again. Ahead of the ATP 500 tournament in Astana, the 21-time major winner admitted that playing and winning consecutive matches is something that gives him confidence.
"Winning gives you confidence. I haven’t played an official tournament in three months, so it’s been a while. I’m just excited to compete more."
"Considering the small amount of tournaments I played this year, it’s a great success to play consistently well on the different surfaces. That’s always a goal to play well all around. It’s going to be much more physical."
Before the event started, the Serbian had time to visit the autism center in Astana together with Carlos Alcaraz, but once he stepped on the court again, it was obvious that he came to Astana to win the tennis matches.
In the first set, the 21-time Grand Slam champion lost only one point on his serve and broke his opponent three times to win it 6-1 in just 25 minutes.
The second set was very similar, and even though Djokovic allowed Garin to win more points on his serve, he never gave the Chilean player a chance to have a break point.
After an hour and two minutes, the Serbian player won the match easily 6-1, 6-1. In the second round of the 2022 Astana Open, the fourth-seeded Djokovic will take on Botic van de Zandschulp, who he never met before.
