Novak Djokovic made a roaring comeback five years after his last appearance at the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters, defeating Alexander Vukic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday . World No. 1 Djokovic, who has not played since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals on January 26, is competing for his sixth title in the season’s first Masters at the desert venue Championship title. The 36-year-old Serbian claimed his 400th career Masters victory, joining Rafael Nadal as the only men to reach the 400-match milestone in the elite tournament.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has won his past 11 Masters matches and also captured titles in Cincinnati and Paris-Bercy last season.
In the women’s draw, third seed Coco Gauff fought back from four sets down to beat France’s Clara Brel 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in the final.
Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka continued her comeback after giving birth and defeated Lyudmila Samsonova 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the third round.
Djokovic took the first set with two breaks in 35 minutes but had to recover from a break in the third game against his 69th-ranked Australian opponent.
Vukic led 6-5 in the second set and tied the match at one with a reflex service winner.
In the third set, top-seeded Djokovic led 3-2 and sealed the victory with his second break of serve just over two hours later, his 51st win at the tournament where he first played in 2006.
“It’s hard to get past him> He plays great,” Djokovic said of Vukic. “He was tearing up his forehand and ruining his serve.
“In the third set, I cracked the code. I stepped up my game and ended the match in a great way.”
Denmark’s seventh seed Holger Ruane was given a free pass into the third round after former Wimbledon finalist and Canadian Milos Raonic withdrew due to injury.
American 12th seed and 2022 champion Taylor Fritz defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in 73 minutes ), hitting 14 aces among his 27 winners.
“I need to play well to protect my serve,” Fritz said. “I always come here with confidence.”
2021 semifinalist No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov defeated France’s Alexandre Muller 7-5, 6-2.
British player Cameron Norrie defeated Italian player Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the third round.
Last weekend’s Dubai champion, No. 14 seed Ugo Humbert from France, defeated American Patrick Kipson by the same score.
Goff rallies to win
Defending U.S. Open champion Gauff received a first-round bye and needed more than two and a half hours to advance.
Third-ranked Gauff is playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since winning her first major title last September.
Gauff, who turns 20 next Wednesday, broke the WTA record with 50 wins as a teenager at the Masters 1000 level, which was established in 2009.
Gauff trailed her 47th-ranked French opponent 4-0, 5-2 in the deciding set, but she fought back to force the tie into the decider.
She broke Blair’s serve and led 5-4, laying the foundation for the French woman to win the serve.
In the deciding game, Gauff advanced on the third match point and Breer missed.
“I’m happy with the mental battle,” Goff said. “It wasn’t my best tennis… but it’s how you perform on your worst days that matters, not your best days.
“Just getting through that game meant a lot, and I could have easily thrown in the towel. Am I proud of my performance? Honestly, not really. But I’m proud of the game.”
Fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula was eliminated 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 by Anna Blinkova, who lost to the U.S. in San Diego earlier this month Man’s game for revenge.
The 45th-ranked Blinkova added a high-profile name to the list of victims after defeating Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open.
Unseeded Emma Raducanu benefited greatly as the Brits advanced 4-0 after Dayana Yastremska retired four games into the tournament with an injury Win and advance to the third round.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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