Novak Djokovic avoids scare to beat Tomas Machac in Dubai thriller in first appearance since Australian Open

28.02.2023 - 23:01 eurosport.com

Novak Djokovic avoided a scare to beat Tomas Machac 6-3 3-6 7-6(1) at the Dubai Tennis Championships in his first match since winning a 10th Australian Open title.

An entertaining match saw Machac play some superb tennis to take the encounter to a final set tie-break but Djokovic showed his class when it mattered to find a way over the line.

Ad Djokovic, who has won the ATP 500 event in Dubai five times, will play Tallon Griekspoor in the last 16 on Wednesday. TennisExclusive: Djokovic v Alcaraz rivalry 'great for tennis' says Corretja13 HOURS AGO “It was fantastic as it always is in Dubai, it's definitely one of my favourite places to play tennis," said Djokovic after the match. “Tomas definitely didn’t play like 130 in the world today.

He played some great tennis. “He was giving me all kinds of trouble but I guess when it mattered I found another gear and physically you can always be better." Unforced errors from Machac gave Djokovic a break to go 3-1 up, but the Czech player broke back immediately.

tennis Novak Djokovic Tomas Machac Australia Czech Republic Dubai

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