Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his second round match against Croatia’s Borna Coric. (Source: Reuters)
Novak Djokovic needed 10 match points to beat Borna Coric 7-6 (2) 7-5 Wednesday and reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
After Coric saved two match points while serving at 5-3, Djokovic served for the match and took a 40-0 lead. But the ninth-seeded Serb sent a backhand long on his first match point, a backhand wide on his next and then hit an unforced error on into the net.
At deuce, Coric contested a call given to Djokovic and the chair umpire ruled in the Croatian’s favor. It gave him a break point, but Djokovic saved it with an ace.
Djokovic then won the next point, when Coric’s forehand went wide, giving him a sixth match point. He hit a backhand wide.
An ace gave him a seventh match point, which Coric saved after Djokovic failed to retrieve his drop shot. Another ace made it No. 8, but Djokovic’s tame forehand allowed Coric an easy forehand winner.
On his ninth match point, a poor backhand from Djokovic went into the net.
Coric finally broke to make it 5-5, but Djokovic broke straight back and got a second chance to serve for the match. The 10th match point did the trick with Coric sending a backhand long.
Djokovic hugged Coric at the net and then patted his opponent on the cheek.
“It was a battle until the last point, a good test,” said Djokovic, who will next face fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria.
Later Wednesday, 10-time champion Rafael Nadal was to play Aljaz Bedene.
In other matches, Kei Nishikori of Japan overcame an early break to beat Daniil Medvedev of Russia 7-5, 6-2, while No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut, Jan-Lennard Struff, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Richard Gasquet also won.