Tennis: Djokovic earns victory over qualifier

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Tennis: Djokovic earns victory over qualifier

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It is the second year in a row that Djokovic has beaten Golubev in the second round of the event.

11 March,2012 09:20 am

Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a third BNP Paribas Open championship by beating qualifier Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday.The top-ranked Djokovic, who beat Rafael Nadal in last years final at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and also won in 2008, is 23-4 on the slow PlexiPave courts that he said favor his game and will face No. 29 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the third round.It is the second year in a row that Djokovic has beaten Golubev in the second round of this $11 million event.Djokovic used a serve and high forehand volley to set up match point and a service winner to bring the 80-minute match to a conclusion.Andy Murray, the No. 4 seed and a possible semifinal opponent for Djokovic, was scheduled to play the final match of the day against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.Isner, the No. 11 seed, earned a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Frederico Gil of Portugal, while fellow-American Roddick, who is at his lowest ranking (31) since August 2001, needed three sets to top Polands Lukasz Kubot 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.It was a badly needed win for Roddick, who has struggled with injuries this season, and it came after what he called an hour and a half of playing so poorly I couldnt have hit a return into the ocean from the beach.I dont feel like Id stolen a match in a while and I did today. I got a (good bounce on a) let cord to break (for a 4-3 lead in the third set) and it felt fantastic. I wasnt sorry at all, even though I said I was.The 29-year-old Roddick, who will meet No. 8 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the third round, won the second-set tiebreaker with a forehand that appeared long, but went unchallenged. And he took control of the third set after Kubot needed a visit from an ATP Tour trainer for a back problem after holding serve for a 3-2 lead.Berdych got by Sergly Stakhovsky of the Ukraine 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4.Frenchman Gilles Simon moved into the third round after a three-set win over qualifier Dudi Sela of Israel, but No. 16 seed Richard Gasquet of France was beaten by Albert Ramos of Spain 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 after having match point in the second set.American Robby Ginepri lost to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the womens No. 15 seed, opened the day on Stadium Court with an easy 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Johanna Larsson of Sweden.No. 6 Samantha Stosur of Australia, No. 10 Francesca Schiavone of Italy and No. 16 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia also advanced.No. 11-seeded Sabiine Lisicki lost 6-1, 6-4 to Lourdes Dominguez-Lino of Spain.Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova played later in the day.