Match Report
Djokovic drops set however battles to opening Indian Wells victory
Serbian is five-time champion in Indian Wells
March 08, 2026
ATP Tour
Novak Djokovic in motion in Indian Wells on Saturday.
By Sam Jacot
Novak Djokovic overcame an opening-round scare from Kamil Majchrzak on Saturday on the BNP Paribas Open, the place he rallied from behind to earn a hard-fought 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory in Indian Wells.
Battling gusty winds within the California desert, Djokovic confirmed indicators of rustiness at instances in his first match since he misplaced to Carlos Alcaraz within the Australian Open ultimate firstly of February. The 38-year-old Serbian struggled to seek out rhythm from the baseline within the first set, however discovered better consistency and efficiency in his groundstrokes within the latter levels to drive his well past Majchrzak, who has long admired the 101-time tour-level titlist.
“It [has] been very challenging lately for me in Indian Wells,” Djokovic mentioned in his on-court interview. “It has been onerous for me to seek out my A-game, notably to start with of the event up to now seven or eight years. I’m glad to beat a problem.
“Kamil is a very solid player. He doesn’t have tremendous power but he has every shot in the book and he was not afraid to come in and take the ball early. He played a great first set. I reset and started to feel better and the crowd was amazing.”
Djokovic, a joint-record five-time Indian Wells champion alongside Roger Federer, has had a irritating current historical past on the occasion, failing to succeed in the fourth spherical since 2017. His final title on the hard-court event got here in 2016, and within the years since, he’s fallen to Taro Daniel, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Luca Nardi, and Botic van de Zandschulp.
Saturday, although, Djokovic ensured he wouldn’t add one other early exit to that checklist. At 38, the Serbian is the second-oldest man to succeed in the third spherical at Indian Wells, trailing solely Ivo Karlovic, who superior to that stage aged 40 in 2019.
“I find that the wind here is one of the toughest on Tour,” Djokovic added when talking concerning the situations. “With the gusts coming in and out, changing direction, it is so, so difficult. Particularly from one end of the court and it puts extra tension.”
In an entertaining, aggressive conflict, Majchrzak had a slice of luck to earn a break within the opening sport of the primary set, with a web twine handing him the benefit. He went on to say the opener earlier than Djokovic upped his depth and benefited from a drop within the Pole’s stage to drive a 3rd set.
Djokovic was then left flat on his again within the opening sport of the decider following a 40-shot rally at 30/30. He dropped the sport, however that solely appeared to ignite his resolve. With renewed aggression, Djokovic broke Majchrzak’s resistance and closed out victory after two hours and 12 minutes.
Djokovic is now 7-1 on the season, in response to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and can subsequent meet Aleksandar Kovacevic.
