Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Nole beats Stakhovsky, reaches Dubai quarters


Nole beats Stakhovsky, reaches Dubai quarters

Novak Djokovic defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6 (5), 6-3 and advanced to the quarterfinals at the Dubai Championships.

Djokovic went down 4-3 in the first-set tiebreaker but two unforced errors from his opponent let him get back in the set, which he won when the Ukrainian hit a forehand long.

In the second set, the world number 1 found himself a break down but fought back to seal the win.

"I was expecting a lot serve and volley attacks, especially after first serve," said Djokovic. "He was using it really well, making my return games very difficult. But we both controlled our service games quite well up to maybe the beginning of the second set. I had one bad service game; he had couple. I was fortunate to use the opportunity when it was presented."

Nole will next meet Janko Tipsarevic.

"[Janko's] very solid from the baseline," said Djokovic. "When he has time and he steps into the court, he's very dangerous. I need to try to be aggressive. I need to try to stay close to the line. That's all. He doesn't have many weaknesses in his game."