Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both had to work much harder than expected to reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Top seed Djokovic lost his bearings in the second set before beating Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 while third seed Murray had to dig himself out of an early hole on the way to a 5‑7, 6-2, 6-2 win against Russian Evgeny Donskoy.
“Fabio played very well towards the end of the second set but it was all my fault,” said world No1 Djokovic, who squandered one match point in the 10th game of that set and was then broken in the 11th when he netted a forehand. “I’m just happy to get through.”
Britain’s Murray (above) said he initially struggled against the 83rd-ranked Russian’s style of game.
“I never saw him play before, so you don’t know the patterns particularly well,” said the world No3. “And I’ve not played a match for six weeks, so you can’t expect to play your best straightaway.”
