Having come into Miami on a three-match losing streak—he retired in the semifinals of the Australian Open due to injury, then lost opening matches at Doha and Indian Wells—Djokovic looked hungry to get back on the winning track from the start against Hijikata on Friday, as he raced through the opening set in just 27 minutes.
Hijikata started sinking his teeth into the match in the second set, though, staying on serve with Djokovic the entire set, but as soon as the tie-break started Djokovic shifted to another gear, opening up a 6-1 lead and finishing it off with a big ace up the T on match point.
Djokovic finished the match with almost twice as many winners as unforced errors, 21 to 12, with a lot of that surplus coming from his backhand (six to one) and serve (nine aces to one double fault).
“I was playing really well, on a high level, from the beginning,” Djokovic said after the one-hour, 19-minute victory. “I knew exactly what I wanted to do, tactically, and I had played him earlier this year—actually the first match of the season I played him in Brisbane—so I think it was good to do some homework, look at those videos.
“I’ve had plenty of time since I lost my first match at Indian Wells, basically two weeks, so I had plenty of time to work on my game, and I think we’ve done a really good job. Obviously it’s just the first match, but the way I felt on the court and the way I played is encouraging.”
