The National's Sport cover for the Tuesday, February 23 issue, features world No 1 Novak Djokovic making quick work of Tommy Robredo in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Read Jon Turner's report: 'Every milestone is very special' Novak Djokovic says as he takes one step closer to win No 700
On court for just under 66 minutes, the four-time Dubai champion dismantled the Spaniard 6-1, 6-2 to dismiss any doubts that three weeks away from competitive action could have had an adverse effect.
Monday night’s win in front of a near capacity Centre Court crowd means Djokovic is now one win away from his 700th ATP victory, and it will be the job of Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri to delay the 28-year-old Serbian from reaching that landmark.
“Every milestone is very special, of course,” Djokovic said. “I wish that I make the 700th win in this tournament, obviously, but it’s not going to affect too much my preparation for the next match.
“It’s not going to change too much the way I approach the next match or this tournament, but of course I’ll be very pleased if it happens here.”
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