ATP roundup: Djokovic dominates Safiullin to reach Monte Carlo third round

Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked player in the world, commenced his campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters in a commanding fashion. He secured a resounding victory of 6-1, 6-2 against Russia's Roman Safiullin, effortlessly progressing to the third round on a rain-delayed day three, which took place on Tuesday.

Djokovic, who withdrew from the recent Miami Open in an effort to manage his schedule, appeared rejuvenated as he secured three breaks of Safiullin's serve in the first set, and an additional two breaks in the second set to secure the victory.

"I believe that even in the matches I lost, I had opportunities to break my opponent's serve. It's a fantastic start to the clay season," he commented.

On Sunday, Djokovic surpassed Roger Federer as the oldest singles player to hold the number one ranking in ATP history, at the age of 36 years and 321 days.

"I met (Rohan) Bopanna yesterday, who holds the record for being the oldest doubles number one. He mentioned that our combined age is 80, although he contributes more to that number than I do," Djokovic jokingly remarked.

The Serbian player, who previously won the tournament in 2013 and 2015, will face the winner of the match between France's Arthur Fils and Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the next round. Fils and Musetti will compete in their second round match later on Tuesday. Musetti defeated Djokovic in the third round last year.

German fifth seed Alexander Zverev easily dispatched Sebastian Ofner in his second round match, winning 6-3, 6-4. Although Ofner managed to break Zverev's serve when trailing 5-2 in the second set, Zverev comfortably finished the job.

Zverev now awaits the outcome of the match between Tomas Etcheverry and 12th-seeded two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Hubert Hurkacz advanced to the second round with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 victory over Britain's Jack Draper. The Polish 10th seed initially appeared dominant, taking a 3-0 lead in the first set. However, Draper staged a comeback to level the set at 4-4, before Hurkacz broke serve to claim the set. Draper then broke serve twice to win the second set and force a decisive third set.

With Hurkacz serving at 5-4 to secure the match, Draper managed to break serve. However, it was a relieved Hurkacz who ultimately emerged triumphant in the tiebreak.

In the second round, Hurkacz, who defeated Draper at last year's tournament as well, will be up against Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain.

Alex de Minaur had a relatively easy time overcoming former champion Stan Wawrinka, winning 6-3, 6-0 to advance to the second round.

Despite winning the title in 2014, Wawrinka couldn't match the skills of the Australian 11th seed, who only needed 24 minutes to secure a bagel in the second set. In the next round, he will face Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Sebastian Korda, an American player, also cruised into the second round with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who was a finalist in 2022. However, Korda will face a much tougher challenge in the next round against world number two Jannik Sinner.

Korda expressed his admiration for Sinner, considering him the best tennis player in the world at the moment. He acknowledged Sinner's incredible season and anticipated their first meeting on clay. Korda's approach is to give his best and see what unfolds.

Unfortunately, Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, had to withdraw from the tournament due to an arm injury. Lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego will take his place in the second round and will compete against Felix Auger-Aliassime.