Novak Djokovic has a potentially tricky second round match against Feliciano Lopez in Dubai.
Djokovic made an impressive start to his Dubai title defence on Tuesday, seeing off Michael Llodra 6-3, 6-3. Llodra is a dangerous opponent indoors but his game loses its sting once the season moves outdoors. However Djokovic still had to be sharp and he returned impressively well.
“I think he didn't serve as well and as fast as our last match in Paris a couple of months back. But still, I was managing to return a lot of balls back and making him play an extra shot. I think I made a lot of returns in. That's what made I think the difference," Djokovic told the press.
“I'm physically stronger and I'm really fit, and I don't want to be too happy about the success. Of course it's a great start (to 2011), a Grand Slam title. It's a big win, a big achievement, but I want to move on and play consistently well all year.”
Djokovic relishes the Decoturf surface used at this tournament. He's won the event for the past two years and has made two US Open finals on these kind of hard courts.
Next up is Lopez, another opponent who is generally at his most effective indoors. However the 29 year old is more capable on medium paced hard courts than Llodra and he's twice finished runner-up in Dubai.
However it's not been a particularly notable start to the year for the Spaniard who's not been past the second round since the US Open. He has also never beaten Djokovic, losing both their matches when they met back in 2007.
