Djokovic in bid to retain Italian Open title

Thursday, 11 May 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Novak Djokovic

ROME, AFP: Novak Djokovic’s will begin his bid to retain the Italian Open title against Tomas Etcheverry after the Argentine beat Luca van Assche in the first round on Wednesday.

World number 61, Etcheverry beat Frenchman Van Assche in straight sets, 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, in Rome to reach the second round, when the top seeds join the fray.

Djokovic comes into the clay court tournament he has won six times recovering from an elbow injury and set to lose top spot in the world rankings to young gun Carlos Alcaraz.

Spaniard Alcaraz just needs to play a match in the Italian capital to become world number one ahead of the French Open which starts later this month.

Djokovic won his record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January but missed the American section of the hard-court swing in March.

The 35-year-old has been unconvincing since the start of the European clay-court season, being eliminated in the last 16 at the Monte Carlo Masters, in the quarter-finals at Banja Luka and then pulling out of Madrid. Veteran Stan Wawrinka will face 25th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the last 64, the three-time Grand Slam winner easing past Ilya Ivashka 6-4, 6-2.

Later Andy Murray takes on local hero Fabio Fognini after winning his first title since 2019 at the weekend.

Briton Murray, who has won three Grand Slams, claimed the honours at the Aix-en-Provence Challenger tournament in France on Sunday.

The 35-year-old is now ranked 42 in the world and is gunning for a seeded spot at Wimbledon in July.