Novak Djokovic started with a defeat at the Miami Open. At the side of his Serbian compatriot Viktor Troicki, former world number one Alexander Peya and Nikola Mektic lost in three sets at the start of the double competition.
In the singles Novak Djokovic is almost unbeatable at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Florida – since 16 matches the “Djoker” on Key Biscayne has not lost any more, he has won 30 of his last 31 games in Sunshine State.
Before the finally “painless” Djokovic can continue his series against Benoit Paire on Friday, the six-time Miami champion had some close contact with the conditions. But without success: In his first double appearance in eleven months Djokovic and his partner Troicki had to accept a 6:4, 5:7, 3:10 defeat against Alexander Peya/Nikola Mektic.
The Austrian-Croatian pairing had lost the first set despite a 4-1 lead, but after 83 minutes the finalists from Rio and Sofia were still happy to reach the round of 16. The current ATP final winners Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who are in second place in Miami, are waiting there.
Alexander and Mischa Zverev are also one lap ahead. The German brothers beat Santiago Gonzalez and Fernando Verdasco 6:3 and 6:4. For the Zverevs, it was their first joint victory of the season after the duo failed at their opening hurdles in Rotterdam, Acapulco and Indian Wells.
In the round of the last 16 it could come to explosive clash with the ruling Australian Open winners, if Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic hold themselves harmless against Feliciano and Marc Lopez. Alexander Zverev still has to be patient with his first appearance in the singles, however, on Saturday the number four of the seed list will meet Daniil Medvedev from Russia.
Here is an overview of the double tableau from Miami