Indian Wells, March 14 (IANS) World No.1 Novak Djokovic has qualified for the third round of the Indian Wells tennis tournament after a hard-fought 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win against the 149-ranked American Bjorn Fratangelo.
Djokovic, who is looking to become the first player to win the tournament five times, survived an unexpected challenge from the US qualifier Fratangelo to win in one hour and 46 minutes, reports Efe.
Fratangelo surprised Djokovic when he won the first set as the Serbian lost concentration and was not able to break the serve of his rival on several occasions.
After regaining his focus, Djokovic was able to make a comeback in the second and third sets to qualify for the third round of the competition.
He will meet the 27th seed, Philipp Kohlschreiber from Germany, who defeated American Denis Kudla 6-0, 6-1.
