Djokovic tested by Etcheverry in opening Italian Open win; Swiatek cruises

ROME: Novak Djokovic was tested by 61st-ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a 7-6 (5), 6-2 opening win at the Italian Open on Friday. Aiming for a seventh title on the red clay of the Foro Italico as he prepares for the French Open, Djokovic twice had to recover from deficits during a tight first set. Djokovic was returning after three weeks off due to a lingering issue with his surgically repaired right elbow.

In his previous two tournaments on red clay, Djokovic had consecutive early exits. He lost in the round of 16 at Monte Carlo to Lorenzo Musetti. Then Dusan Lajovic beat him in the quarterfinals of the Srpska Open in Bosnia and Herzegovina, dealing him his first loss to a fellow Serbian in 11 years.

After his serve was broken in the opening game of the match — after which he put a black sleeve on over his right elbow — Djokovic fell behind 3-1 before eventually getting back on serve. Djokovic had two set points on Etcheverry’s serve at 5-4 in the first but the Argentine produced two big serves that Djokovic couldn’t return. Then Etcheverry took a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker before Djokovic again rallied back — this time taking control for good.

Djokovic said he was “still not at the desired level, still finding the shots, finding that groove on the court. “But it’s always a little tricky playing somebody for the first time. He’s a clay-court specialist and he started better than I did.