• ATP Tour

Djokovic opens with victory in Serbia

ESPN staff
April 27, 2011
Novak Djokovic is unbeaten in 2011 © Getty Images
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Seedings

Novak Djokovic fired a statement of intent to world No. 1 Rafael Nadal as he kicked off his clay court season with victory at the Serbia Open in his home town of Belgrade.

The world No. 2 extended his unbeaten start to 2011 to 25 matches with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Romanian qualifier Adrian Ungar, who provided little resistance after a promising start.

After an early trade of breaks, Djokovic notched a double break to clinch the opening set, and the Australian Open champion needed just 68 minutes to book his place in the quarter-finals. Djokovic will now face world No. 85 Blaz Kavcic following the Slovenian's victory over Ricardo Mello.

Also through to the quarter-finals is Feliciano Lopez, who brought Fernando Gonzalez's comeback to an abrupt end with a 6-4 7-6(4) victory. Lopez will now meet fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes for a place in the semi-finals after the fourth seed came from a set down to beat Michael Berrer 3-6 6-2 6-2.

At the Estoril Open in Portugal, Robin Soderling needed all three sets to find his way past world No. Jeremy Chardy. The two-time French Open finalist looked to be on course for an emphatic victory when he dropped a single game on his way to taking the opening set, but he was pegged back by the Frenchman after a second-set tiebreak.

However, the world No. 5 upped his level, and dropped just two points on serve in the final set as he set up a mouthwatering quarter-final clash with former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who blazed past Alejandro Falla 6-2 6-1.

Also in Portugal, Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas upset third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. Cuevas dropped just 10 points on serve as he sealed an impressive 6-2 7-6(0) victory in 78 minutes to set up a last-eight clash with Thomaz Bellucci.

At the BMW Open in Munich, Bulgarian teenager Grigor Dimitrov saved two match points against fourth seed Marcos Baghdatis to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final. Dimitrov, the only teenager in the world's top 100, showcased his talent, fighting from a set down to secure a 3-6 7-6(6) 6-2 victory.

It was a bad day for the seeds in Munich, as top seed and defending champion Mikhail Youzhny was beaten by home favourite Philipp Petzschner 7-6(5) 3-6 6-2, while Italy's Potito Starace beat sixth seed Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4 6-2 on a day hampered by rain delays.

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