Wimbledon Champion Novak Djokovic was forced to work hard for his first match after his surprise exit at the Monte Carlo Masters. The World No 1 was playing Luca Ban Assche and lost the first yet to the French teenager. In a highly entertaining contest the Serb managed to turn the match around to claim the victory 6-7(4) 6-3 6-2.

Djokovic has been suffering with an elbow injury in recent weeks and he will be hoping to maintain his fitness leading into the French Open next month. He will be hoping to move ahead of great rival Rafael Nadal in the all-time Grand Slam rankings. They are both currently tied on 22 major titles each. Nadal has won the Paris slam a record 14 times but he is suffering with his own injury concerns and may miss the Roland Garros event. Djokovic will therefore be looking to take full advantage of Nadal’s absence if he is forced to miss the tournament.

Elsewhere, British No 1 Cameron Norrie got off to a good start at the Barcelona Open in a straight sets victory against qualifier Pavel Kotov 6-1 6-2. Britain’s Dan Evans also came progressed into the next round with a straight sets win over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 6-4 6-3.

“Djokovic” by Doha Stadium Plus is licensed under CC BY 2.0.