Olympic Men's Tennis 2021: Novak Djokovic Cruises in Win; Full Results from Monday
Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia cruised through the second round of the men's Olympic tennis tournament Monday with a straight-set victory over Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.
Djokovic, who's already won the year's first three Grand Slam events, is aiming to win the Golden Slam, which would feature an Olympic gold medal in addition to all four major titles in the same calendar year. He's now just 11 wins away from accomplishing the rare feat.
Russian Olympic Committee's Daniil Medvedev (No. 2 seed) and Germany's Alexander Zverev (No. 4) were the other high-profile winners from Monday's action.
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Men's Tennis Results
(1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. Jan-Lennard Struff (GER); 6-4, 6-3
(2) Daniil Medvedev (ROC) d. Sumit Nagal (IND); 6-2, 6-1
(4) Alexander Zverev (GER) d. Daniel Elahi Galan (COL); 6-2, 6-2
(6) Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) d. Marin Cilic (CRO); 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) d. (13) Lorenzo Sonego (ITA); 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
(15) Fabio Fognini (ITA) d. Egor Gerasimov (BLR); 6-4, 7-6
(16) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) d. John Millman (AUS); 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
Dominik Koepfer (GER) d. Max Purcell (AUS); 6-3, 6-0
Day 3 Recap
What's made Djokovic unbeatable on tennis' biggest stages this year is his ability to emerge victorious in virtually any way imaginable. He's won by smashing a ton of winners or by playing elite defense or by simply taking advantage of opponents' mistakes when he's not in peak form.
On Monday, he rode his serve to the third round with an eye-popping 14 aces in just two sets. He also converted all three of his break-point opportunities in the triumph over Struff.
"I'm obviously very pumped and inspired to make history," Djokovic told reporters. "I have that guiding star that is there and I see it, and it gives me light and it gives me energy, but at the same time I better stick to the stuff that I know works well on a daily basis for me."
Medvedev wasn't at his best Monday, tallying just five winners and 12 unforced errors, but Nagal couldn't capitalize on the opportunity to pull off a massive upset. The 23-year-old Indian finished with 31 unforced errors and five double-faults.
While the second-seeded Russian wasn't at his best, he did play well on key points en route to five breaks of serve and a perfect 11-for-11 mark on his own second serve to prevent his unheralded counterpart from having any real chance to turn the tide of the match.
Zverev also moved through without much drama by dispatching Galan while dropping just four games. Like Djokovic, it was the serve that was the name of the game for the German in the second round as he tallied 12 aces and didn't face any break points.
The 2020 U.S. Open finalist is in a favorable section of the Olympic draw and has a terrific chance to at least reach the semifinals, where he'd be staring down a likely matchup with Djokovic.
Tuesday's tennis schedule in Tokyo will include the conclusion of the men's second round. Notable matchups on tap include Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. the United States' Frances Tiafoe and the host nation's Kei Nishikori vs. American Marcos Giron.
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