Djokovic returns with a victory

Novak Djokovic beat Slovakia’s Martin Klizan 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the opening round of the Mexican Open on Tuesday. The win was Djokovic’s first since his shocking loss in the second round of the Australian Open.

“It’s always tough to win the first match but I’m happy with my game, especially in the first set, hopefully I can keep playing like that,” Djokovic said. “I have not played since Australia and I felt out of rhythm out there. Klizan is an aggressive player and he’s not afraid and I needed to give my best to win it.”

The 29-year-old Serbian, ranked No. 2, played his first tournament since Jan. 19, when he suffered an unexpected loss to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin. Djokovic, making his debut in Acapulco, saved four break points to take the first set Tuesday, struggled in the second set and needed a tiebreaker to take down Klizan in about 1 1/2 hours.

Djokovic, the top seed in Mexico, will play against Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro, who needed 2:31:19 to defeat American Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1).

It will be the first match between them since the first round of the Olympic tournament in Rio 2016, when Del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner, ousted Djokovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) in the first round. Djokovic, who skipped Dubai for the first time in seven years, is the first favorite in Mexico. The second is Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who had a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win over Mischa Zverev.

Nadal, a two-time winner in Acapulco, will play Italian Paolo Lorenzi in the next round.The Spaniard has an 11-0 record in Mexico. Earlier, third-seeded Marin Cilic reached the second round with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov, a wild-card entry. The 28-year-old Cilic is struggling this year with a 4-4 record. He was beaten in the second round in the Australian Open and Montpellier and reached the quarterfinals in Rotterdam.