Djokovic wins his opener at the Italian Open after a month off. Defending champ Rybakina withdraws
Novak Djokovic took a little while to get going in his first match in nearly a month
ROME (AP) — Novak Djokovic took a little while to get going in his first match in nearly a month.
He cleaned up his game after dropping his first two service games with some sloppy play, though, and completed a 6-3, 6-1 win over left-handed French qualifier Corentin Moutet in his opening match at the Italian Open on Friday.
“I haven’t practiced with a lefty in a while, so it took me a little bit of time to adjust to the different rotation on the balls,” Djokovic said. “The first four games were quite bad for me. … But then I played well.”
The top-ranked Djokovic hadn’t played since he lost to Casper Ruud in the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals on April 13. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is also without a title this year — the first time he’s reached May without a trophy since 2018, when he was returning from a right elbow injury.
