World number one Novak Djokovic admitted to being somewhat starstruck after booking his spot in the third round at Indian Wells.
The Serb, who is aiming for his sixth career victory in the Californian desert, was playing in his first match since winning January’s Australian Open and showed plenty of grit to battle past Bjorn Fratangelo 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
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Amongst the spectators was 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic admitted that the nerves kicked in when he spotted the American due to his desire to impress one of his idols.
“It’s a thrill to see someone I looked up to when I was a kid,” said 31-year-old Djokovic. “I was pleasantly surprised but felt my nerves kick in.
I don’t get to see him very often and wanted to impress him.” Djokovic will now play Philipp Kohlschreiber following the German’s 6-4 6-4 win over Nick Kyrgios while Alexander Zverev is also through after a 6-3 2-0 win over Martin Klizan, who retired through an ankle injury.
However, 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas is out after going down to another impressive youngster in 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime.
