Novak Djokovic beats Michael Berrer to progress to second round of China Open
Last Updated: October 2, 2012 5:09pm
Novak Djokovic: Was taken to three sets but came through test against Michael Berrer
Novak Djokovic progressed to the second round of the China Open despite dropping a set in his 6-1 6-7 (3/7) 6-2 win over Michael Berrer.
The Serbian cruised through the first set but was unable to take any of his three break points in the second before eventually losing it on a tie-break.
He was back to his clinical best in the third, though, breaking twice to seal victory over his German opponent in just under two hours.
"I had a tough time to really return his serve in the second, because he went for precision more than the speed of his first serves," Djokovic said.
"He had a very high percentage of first serves in and he put a lot of pressure on my serves. I tried to stay closer to the line in the third, and it worked."
Second seed David Ferrer was a major casualty, however, as he pulled out of his clash with Lu Yen-hsun while 5-4 down in the first set.
Seventh seed Tommy Haas will also play no further part in the tournament after he was beaten 6-4 4-6 6-2 by fellow veteran Mikhail Youzhny.
Third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was forced to come from behind against Denis Istomin, dropping the first set but recovering to win 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7/3).
Elsewhere in Beijing, Nikolay Davydenko won an all-Russian clash against Alex Bogomolov Jr 7-5 6-1, Jurgen Melzer saw off Pablo Andujar 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7/3) and Julien Benneteau retired when trailing 6-1 2-0 to Andreas Seppi.
