Djokovic into Marseille last eight

MARSEILLE (France): World number three Novak Djokovic eased into the quarter-finals of the Marseille ATP indoor tournament as the Serbian continued his rehabilitation from his Australian Open nightmare.

Djokovic saw off Czech journeyman Jan Hernych 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday and will tackle Germany's Mischa Zverev for a place in the semi-finals.

Top seed Djokovic is playing in his first tournament since retiring from his Australian Open quarter-final clash against Andy Roddick last month where heat exhaustion scupper his title defence.

"It was a strange match with a lot of ups and downs regarding my game," admitted Djokovic.

"I was a break up in both of the sets so I should have finished the job earlier. But I'm happy to get through in straight sets."

The 21-year-old Djokovic is through to the Marseille quarter-finals for the first time in three visits.

Looking ahead to a quarter-final clash with Zverev, Djokovic said: "He has a lot of touch and great talent. He doesn't really have a powerful stroke but he's very solid from both sides so it's a tough one."

Also into the last eight is France's Julien Benneteau who enjoyed a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 win over Switzerland's George Bastl, the world 227.

Soruce:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Djokovic-into-Marseille-last-eight/articleshow/4158501.cms

Djokovic beats Delic to grab 4th round spot in Australia

MELBOURNE: Serbia's Novak Djokovic recovered from dropping his first set of the tournament to beat American Amer Delic 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday.

The defending champion lost the second set after a brief lapse in concentration but regained his composure to win the next two, despite being pushed to a tiebreaker in the fourth.

Delic, who was promoted to the main draw as a lucky loser when Nicolas Kiefer pulled out, troubled the world number three with his booming serve but Djokovic's big-match experience proved decisive.

Djokovic's next opponent will be either Mardy Fish or Marcos Baghdatis.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Specials/Australian_Open_2009/Djokovic_beats_Delic_to_grab_round_4_spot/articleshow/4020423.cms