Tennis News: Astana Open - Novak Djokovic prevails over Cristian Garin

The Serbian legend Novak Djokovic opened his Astana Open campaign fresh from his 89th tour-level title victory at Tel Aviv Watergen Open with a menacing performance to secure a straight-set win over World's No. 81, Cristian Garin.

21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic maintained his near-flawless form on the indoor hardcourts in Astana in his Astana Open debut.

Brandon Nakashima served four aces, won 81% of the points on the first serve and broke the serve of Cristian Garin five times from eight opportunities. In contrast, the 26-year-old Chilean served one ace and won 47% of the points on the first and 33% on the second.

After the victory, Brandon Nakashima said, “I was lucky that throughout my career I was actually pretty quick in adjusting to different conditions and surfaces. But I think that experience helps in knowing what to do. Coming into this tournament, I feel confident, I feel excited, I feel motivated, so I think that helps as well to adjust quickly.”

Novak Djokovic is aiming to win his fourth tour-level title of the season. He will next lock horns with the World's No. 34 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Astana Open on October 6.  

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev win in Astana

Stefanos Tsitsipas held firm in the face of a tough challenge from Luca Nardi of Italy in the second round of the Astana Open. At the same time, Andrey Rublev secured a comfortable straight-set victory over Zhang Zhizhen of China.

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas needed to be at his best during the service games against the 19-year-old Italian en route to a 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory. Luca Nardi gave a fantastic performance, but the Greek sensation stayed consistent throughout the game to secure a quarterfinal spot after one hour and 45 minutes of play.

Andrey Rublev advanced to the quarterfinal after beating Chinese sensation Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-2.

After the victory, Stefanos Tsitsipas said, “He’s a player that can play very well in the future. I was impressed by his level. He was able to maintain that throughout the entire match. There weren’t any holes. I believe today he could sustain that level from beginning to end, which was extremely impressive."