Six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic made his long-awaited return to the event Friday and simply defeated Rinky Hijikata 6-0, 7-6 (1) to succeed in the third spherical.
It marked Djokovic’s first match on the Miami occasion since 2019, and it was his 410th ATP Masters 1000-level win, tying him with Rafael Nadal for many all time.
“I used to be taking part in rather well, I imply on a really excessive stage from the start, I knew precisely what I needed to do tactically,” Djokovic, the No. 4 seed, stated throughout his on-court interview. “Clearly it is simply the primary match, however the way in which I felt on the courtroom and the way in which I performed is admittedly encouraging.”
It was all one-way site visitors within the opening set as Djokovic showcased his superior shotmaking from the baseline together with a deadly service sport to make an ideal begin.
He wanted simply 27 minutes to wrap up the opening set.
However Hijikata refused to again down, and his confidence grew throughout a tightly-contested second set the place neither participant might handle a break. Djokovic took over within the tiebreak, successful the ultimate six factors.
No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev, the 2023 Miami champion who arrived this yr recent off a run to the Indian Wells semifinals, crashed out in his opening match, falling 6-2, 6-3 to Spain’s Jaume Munar.
Former Miami Open finalists Casper Ruud and Grigor Dimitrov each superior, whereas Australia’s Nick Kyrgios — who this week earned his first win since October 2022 — fell 7-6 (3), 6-0 to Karen Khachanov.
Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, kicks off the night session in opposition to Belgium’s David Goffin.
Reuters contributed to this report.