WORLD number one, Novak Djokovic showed no signs of having an extended break since his Australian Open triumph, speeding past Turkey’s Malek Jaziri in an hour of play at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The Serbian star won 6-1 6-2 in exactly 60 minutes, as he ironed out any cobwebs he had from not playing in a few weeks.

In the win, Djokovic showcased his incredible ability with seven aces off a 70 per cent serving efficiency, while winning 83 per cent of his first serve points, and 62 per cent off his second serve points. He broke Jaziri four times from eight chances, and did not give his Tunisian opponent a chance to create a break point opportunity. The wildcard was helpless to stop the Serbian three-time winner here winning a measly 10 points off Djokovic’s serve, and only 21 points on his own serve for a total points percentage of 35 per cent.

Meanwhile Gael Monfils, the most in-form player heading into the tournament having picked up back-to-back titles since the Australian Open, also moved through with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. He joined fellow seeds and Russian duo, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16. Sixth seed Rublev triumphed over Italian qualifier, Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-4, while seventh seed Khachanov won 7-6 6-1 over Kazakhstani, Mikhail Kukushkin. In the other two matches, Frenchman Richard Gasquet downed South African qualifier Lloyd Harris in straight sets, while German Philipp Kohlschreiber played in the only three-set match of the day, overcoming a deficit to get past Egyptian wildcard, Mohamed Safwat.

Tomorrow’s state of play has second seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas going up against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, with the latter’s compatriot, Roberto Bautista Agut taking on German Jan-Lennard Struff straight after. Earlier in the day, the Centre Court matches see eighth seed, Benoit Paire try and break his poor form over the past month against Croatian Maric Cilic, while Dan Evans faces fourth seed Italian, Fabio Fognini.

ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) defeated [WC] M. Jaziri (TUN) 6-1 6-2
[3] G. Monfils (FRA) defated M. Fucsovics (HUN) 6-4 7-5
[6] A. Rublev (RUS) defeated [Q] L. Musetti (ITA) 6-4 6-4
[7] K. Khachanov (RUS) defeated M. Kukushkin (KAZ) 7-6 6-1
P. Kohlschreiber (GER) defated [WC] M. Safwat (EGY) 4-6 6-4 6-0
R. Gasquet (FRA) defeated [Q] L. Harris (RSA) 7-6 6-4