MEXICO CITY (AP) — Novak Djokovic beat Slovakia's Martin Klizan 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the opening round of the Mexican Open on Tuesday.
The win was Djokovic's first since his shocking loss in the second round of the Australian Open.
"It's always tough to win the first match but I'm happy with my game, especially in the first set, hopefully I can keep playing like that," Djokovic said. "I have not played since Australia and I felt out of rhythm out there. Klizan is an aggressive player and he's not afraid and I needed to give my best to win it."
The 29-year-old Serbian, ranked No. 2, played his first tournament since Jan. 19, when he suffered an unexpected loss to Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin. Djokovic, making his debut in Acapulco, saved four break points to take the first set Tuesday, struggled in the second set and needed a tiebreaker to take down Klizan in about 1 1/2 hours.