'Great' first match as Djokovic returns in triumph

MONTE CARLO • In the aftermath of his Australian Open win, Novak Djokovic said he would take some time off the ATP Tour to recover from an abdominal tear suffered during the year's first Grand Slam.

But in his first match in two months yesterday, the world No. 1 showed no signs of rust in his Monte Carlo Masters round-of-32 victory over rising star Jannik Sinner, winning 6-4, 6-2.

His 19-year-old opponent shot to prominence by making it to the Miami Open final this month and the world No. 22 had seen off Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4 at yet another Masters 1000 event to book his first date with Djokovic.

But it proved to be a one-sided contest at the Monte Carlo Country Club, with the Serb looking ominous as this season's European clay-court swing gets under way.

Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and a string of other smaller-scale tournaments will follow before the French Open starts on May 30.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion, who will next face Briton Daniel Evans for a place in the last eight today, was happy with the way he comfortably dealt with the test Sinner provided in Monaco.

"It was a very good encounter, I thought it was a great first match (back), a big challenge for me," Djokovic said. "Jannik is in form, he played in the Miami final, he's been playing well. I just kind of hung in there today and managed to find the right shots and the right game at the right time."

At 33, Djokovic is 14 years older than Sinner but after getting a look at the 2019 Next Generation ATP Finals champion for the first time, he said he liked what he saw.

On the Italian, who has already earned two Tour titles since making his debut in 2018-19 and had reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros last year, he said: "(He) is an all-round player, he hits the ball in the sweet spot more or less on any surface really.

"He's got a lot of talent and he has proven that he is the future of our sport, actually already the present of our sport. Already making Masters finals, he's making big strides in professional tennis."

The man Djokovic is seeded to meet in the final, Rafael Nadal, also took his first step towards what he hopes will be a 12th title in the principality against Federico Delbonis, beating the Argentinian 6-1, 6-2.

The Spaniard was also playing his first match since bowing out of the quarter-finals in Melbourne and served notice he remains the favourite to beat at Roland Garros, with 13 of his 20 Slams coming on the famous red clay.

Like Djokovic, it was an easy workout for Nadal, whose training partner and second seed Daniil Medvedev was forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19 on Monday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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