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2/22/10 5:31 PM | Ricky Dimon
Novak Djokovic takes out Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in two tight sets on Monday night in Dubai. Djokovic is joined in the second round by Marcos Baghdatis, who ousted No. 8 seed Gilles Simon in straight sets.
(2) Novak Djokovic d. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 6-4
Djokovic, the 2009 champion, kicked off his title defense at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships by dismissing Garcia-Lopez in one hour and 37 minutes. The second-ranked Serb gave back an immediate service break in the third game of the match, but he regained control at 5-4 in the first set. A Garcia-Lopez backhand on Djokovic's first set point ended the opening frame of play.
From there it appeared to be all over, as the 47th-ranked Spaniard started to disappear in set two. After saving two break points for a 1-0 lead, Djokovic broke at love for 2-0 and was seemingly off to the races. Garcia-Lopez did not get on the scoreboard until what looked like a relatively meaningless hold of serve while trailing 5-0. Instead, the single game turned out to be the beginning of a stunning momentum shift. Garcia-Lopez broke to stay alive at 1-5, then saved a match point with a forehand winner at 3-5 and broke again two points later. The underdog fought off a second match point at 4-5, 15-40, but Djokovic finally finished off Garcia-Lopez with a crushing forehand for the victory-clinching break.
Marcos Baghdatis d. (8) Gilles Simon 7-6(3), 6-4
Simon's recent woes continued on Monday afternoon in Dubai as Baghdatis advanced after one hour and 42 minutes. The eighth-seeded Frenchman, who was playing in just his second match this season due to a knee injury, tested Baghdatis in each set but folded at the key moments. After two breaks of serve were exchanged in the opening frame of play, Simon went away quietly in the tiebreaker, winning just three points.
Both men also broke serve once in the second set en route to a 5-4 Baghdatis advantage. That's when the 37th-ranked Cypriot struck for victory, capitalizing on a poor service game from Simon for a match-ending break. Although Baghdatis took a medical timeout for an apparent illness in the first set, Simon seemed to be going for winners more than usual in attempt to keep points as short as possible. A 2009 Dubai semifinalist, Simon won 82 percent of his first-serve points but just 42 percent on second serve when he could not dictate rallies from the start. Baghdatis finished with 14 aces and four double-faults on the way to a second-round meeting with either Marco Chiudinelli or Somev Devvarman.
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