Novak Djokovic is only the fourth-seeded player at the 2022 Astana Open but he's certainly the biggest favourite as he proved in the opening match against Cristian Garin.
In 2022, the Serbian played only 34 matches and in Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, only Rafael Nadal played less tournaments that Novak Djokovic. Therefore, the Serbian wasn't used to playing many back-to-back events this year, but he will need to embrace the physical test at the 2022 Astana Open. Prior to the opening match, he said:
“Winning gives you confidence,” Djokovic said. “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,” Djokovic said. “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 autism centre together with Carlos Alcaraz, but once he stepped on the court again, it was obvious that he came to Astana to win.
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 although Djokovic allowed Garin to win more points on his serve, he never got a chance to have a break point and after an hour and two minutes, the Serbian won 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.
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