• BNP Paribas Open

Djokovic begins brightly at Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic put in a strong second-round performance © Getty Images

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World No. 1 Novak Djokovic started his defence of the BNP Paribas Open title in style with a straight-sets win in the second round.

Djokovic appeared untroubled by qualifier Andrey Golubev at Indian Wells on Saturday, notching a 6-3 6-2 triumph in 80 minutes. The Serbian lost just 15 points on serve after asserting his dominance early in the contest.

After breaking Golubev in the fourth game of the opening set, Djokovic stormed to a commanding 4-1 lead before meeting some resistance from the 133rd-ranked Kazakh. Indeed, Golubev broke back courtesy of his powerful backhand, only for Djokovic to respond immediately before taking the first set.

In much the same way, Djokovic began brightly in the second set. However, a weary Golubev, who hit 39 errors in the match, was unable to hold out on this occasion as the defending champion strolled into the third round.

Andy Roddick put his fans through the wringer before taking out Lukasz Kubot. The American, who has been struggling for consistency in his game, dropped the first set and was a break down in the second. He looked massively out of sorts, but battled his way into a tiebreak and duly levelled the match.

Kubot was broken at the start of the final set, only to hit back. However, a poor service game handed Roddick a second break and he did not pass it up - closing out a 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3 win.

It was a mixed day for the French contingent, as Richard Gasquet fell in three sets to Albert Ramos but No. 13 seed Gilles Simon battled through to beat Dudi Sela 7-5 6-7(6) 6-4.

John Isner had too much firepower for Frederico Gil, winning 7-5 6-3, while qualifier Matthew Ebden beat Julien Benneteau in three sets.

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