World No 2 made to fight for his first win of the season
Tuesday 3 January 2017 18:06, UK
Novak Djokovic battled from 5-1 down against world No 63 Jan-Lennard Struff to claim his first victory of the season at the Qatar Open on Monday.
The world No 2 lost his opening two service games and struggled with the German's big serves in the early exchanges.
But the Serb rallied in determined fashion to eventually take the first-round match 7-6 (7-1) 6-3.
"It wasn't a great start, I was 1-5 down, it didn't look very good," Djokovic said after winning in just under 90 minutes.
He attributed his slow start to early-season rustiness rather than any long-term concerns over his form, following a relatively poor second half of the season in 2016.
"I guess I had to get more time to get the engine started. It's the first match of the year, you never know how you're going to start.
"I mean, I was a bit flat on my feet, and Struff, credit to him for playing aggressive, hitting the serves well, and ripping (the) ball from the baseline.
"But I stayed composed because I knew, I believed that I could find the rhythm, start reading his serve better, and that's what happened."
The 12-time Grand Slam winner is looking to reclaim his number-one ranking from Andy Murray, who is also in Doha as the tournament's number one seed.
If matches go to form, the rivals will meet in the final on January 7.
Murray begins his attempt to win the Qatar Open, an event he last won in 2009, with a first-round match against France's Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday.
The Scotsman, knighted in the New Year Honours list, was in action in the doubles on Monday, but he and partner Mariusz Fyrstenberg lost in straight sets to David Marrero and Nenad Zimonjic.
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