Novak Djokovic also won his second match at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome. After his sovereign two-set victory over Alexander Dolgopolov, the Serb beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday. Kei Nishikori, however, celebrated a tough victory over Grigor Dimitrov.
In the first set, Djokovic had a few break points to fend off in the seventh game, but Basilashvili could not use any of his options. In the finish, Djokovic grabbed the first run with a strong forehand and cheered together with the enthusiastic spectators on the Pietrangeli court.
The Serb took the momentum right away into the second set, where Basilashvili served two double mistakes at 0:1, giving Djokovic the decisive advantage. The twelve-time Grand Slam champion did not allow any more break points and was the winner after 77 minutes.
In the next round Djokovic will fight for his first ATP quarter-final of the season against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Spaniard showed a strong serve against John Isner, who in turn served 30 aces, and won 6:7(5), 7:6(2), 7:6(5) in just under three hours after trailing the set. Djokovic clearly leads the head-to-head against Ramos-Vinolas 5-0.
On his 27th birthday, Dimitrov suffered a severe defeat against Nishikori. The Japanese, who had lost three matches in a row before Rome, was trailing by a break in the second and third sets, but won the match 6:7(4), 7:5, 6:4.
Nishikori now has 11-6 wins in the season and will face German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the next round, who clearly won in two sets against the trickling Jack Sock on Tuesday. It was Dimitrov’s fourth consecutive defeat in the Italian capital.