Two-time BNP Paribas Open champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the fourth round at this ATP Masters 1000 event on Tuesday after scraping past Colombian Alejandro Gonzales 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. The 2008 and 2011 champion admitted that he wasn’t familiar with his opponent’s play.
“It took me a little bit [of time] to get used to his game,” said Djokovic. “But I thought I played really well from the start… Then suddenly I just had a big loss of concentration and allowed him to win the second set for no reason. [I] bounced back better in the third.
“But I obviously cannot allow myself to have these particular concentration lapses in the match at this level – especially in the next match when I’m playing Cilic, a guy who is in really good form and I think has gotten better in last couple of months working with [Goran] Ivanisevic. So I’m going to have to be on top of my game throughout the whole match in order to win it.
Djokovic will be facing in-form Croatian Marin Cilic who won his 20th win of the season against 16th-ranked Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-4, 6-3.
“I’ve played him several times on different surfaces. We haven’t played each other for quite a long time,” Djokovic said.
