Djokovic Extends Win Streak To 29; Federer Also Advances

Novak Djokovic today turned in his most impressive performance on a clay court this year at the Mutua Madrid Open, dismantling Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1 6-2 in less than an hour, equaling Ivan Lendl’s 29-0 record to start the 1986 seaon.

The world’s No. 2 ranked player rolled through the first set in just 23 minutes, dropping only 8 total points.  He was leading 5-0, and 20 points to 3, when the Spaniard was finally able to hold serve.  Djokovic has already won seven love sets this year.

Playing as well as he did earlier this year on hard courts, the Serb broke Garcia-Lopez to open the second set, and cruised through the rest of the set without facing a break point to advane to the quarterfinals.  Djokovic finished the match with only five unforced errors and lost just two points on his serve.

In a match played simultaneously, Roger Federer avoided the drama of his 2nd round thriller with Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, which he won in an exciting third set tiebreaker, taking down Belgian Xavier Malisse in straight sets, 6-4 6-3.

Federer did not play his best tennis on the heels of his escape act last night, but did enough to put away Malisse in an efficient 1 hour and 10 minutes.  The world No. 3 made it a bit more interesting than it needed to be in the first set.  After getting an early break and consolidating the advantage, Federer led 3-0 and appeared to be cruising.  But Malisse broke back in the 7th game and forced Swiss to come up with another break in the 10th game to take the first set.

In what may have been a bit of a hangover effect from last night’s theatrics, Federer, at times, did not look comfortable on court, engaging in a running conversation with the umpire about line calls and chiding himself for inconsistent play.  Both players were having a difficult time moving well as the court dried out and footing became slippery.

Federer, who won the tournament in 2009 and was the runner-up last year, advances to the quarterfinals, where he will meet either Robin Soderling or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Djokovic will put his season-long win streak on the line in tomorrow’s quarterfinals against the winner of tonight’s match between David Ferrer and Sergiy Stakhovsky.