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October 7, 2014

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Djokovic 鈥榲ery fit鈥 for title defense

By Ma Yue | October 7, 2014, Tuesday | Print Edition

NOVAK Djokovic declared himself “very fit” as he set his sights on a third successive Shanghai Rolex Masters title.

The world No. 1 won his fifth straight China Open title in Beijing on Sunday, beating Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-2 in the final.

“I didn’t get too much energy out of me last week. I’m happy to have that, without dropping a set, winning a tournament in great fashion against a top player. It only can boost my confidence,” the Serb told a press conference yesterday.

Djokovic attributed his good performances in China to the enthusiastic fans and their support, as well as the court conditions, which, he said, are suitable to his style of play.

His fitness regime was also a factor at this time of the year. “All the hard work we put in throughout the year, it kind of pays off at this stage. With the US Open finishing a couple of weeks ago, I think it’s normal to expect that players and everybody feels a bit exhausted. They’re not able to make that extra push. So that’s where I seek my opportunity.”

The top seed has a bye in the first round and faces Austrian Dominic Thiem in his opener.

The Qizhong Tennis Stadium in suburban Minhang District was open to spectators for free yesterday, when both the Chinese doubles pairs lost in the first round. Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe fell to Marcin Matkowski of Poland and Leander Paes of India 3-6, 5-7. Zhang Ze and Wu Di could hardly challenge Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden.

Zhang partnered Roger Federer in the doubles last year, which proved to be one of the highlights of last year’s tournament but this year Zhang teamed up Wu but the duo couldn’t find a solution against their opponents’ speedy and low returns. They were broken three times in the second set to lose 4-6, 0-6.

The duo will now shift their focus to singles, with Zhang taking on Julien Benneteau of France and Wu challenging Argentine Leonardo Mayer today.

The big upset yesterday was the defeat of ninth seed and US Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia, who lost to compatriot Ivo Karlovic 5-7, 6-2, 6-7 (2).

“He (Karlovic) was serving really well towards the end of the match,” Cilic said. “It’s a gamble against him. He goes all in or nothing. It’s always difficult.”

In other matches, Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei downed Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 while 13th seed John Isner of the US, Frenchman Richard Gasquet, Juan Monaco of Argentina and Malek Jaziri of Tunisia also advanced.

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