Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, celebrates defeating Peter Polansky, of Canada, at the Rogers Cup men’s tennis tournament in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)
TORONTO — Four-time champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the Rogers Cup on Wednesday, beating Canadian wild-card Peter Polansky 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic, coming off his fourth Wimbledon title last month, had seven aces and never faced a break point in the 1-hour, 25-minute match. A former world No. 1, Djokovic is seeded ninth in the event he last won in 2016.
“I thought I served well in the moments when I really need it,” the Serbian star said. “I thought I found pretty good accuracy and angles with the first serve, and also my second serve worked pretty well. Overall, my game was so-and-so. In the moments when I probably needed to step it up, I did.”
Heavy morning rain delayed the match by about an hour. Milos Raonic of Canada was scheduled to follow Djokovic’s win on center court, but that match was delayed by rain. Top-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain had the prime court to open the evening session.
Earlier Wednesday, tournament officials announced that Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina had withdrawn because of a left wrist injury.
“Sorry to my fans in Toronto, but I have to pull out of the tournament since my left wrist needs some days of rest,” Del Potro said in a tweet.
Del Potro, who had a bye in the first round after reaching the Los Cabos final last week, was set to play Robin Haase of the Netherlands. Haase beat Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-5, 6-2.
Polansky, a 30-year-old from nearby Thornhill, Ontario, reached a career-high No. 110 in June but entered the week at No. 121.
“I thought it went really well out there,” said Polansky, who’s never made it past the second round of a Rogers Cup. “6-3, 6-4, (it was) probably a little closer than the score line said. I’ll take it as a good experience and look forward to the next event.”
Also, Karen Khachanov of Russia beat 12th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (3), and Ilya Ivashka of Belarus topped American Ryan Harrison 7-6 (5), 6-4.