Djokovic beats Nishikori in Madrid Open first round

Novak Djokovic won his much-anticipated first-round match against Kei Nishikori at the Madrid Open, and said it was “exactly what I needed”.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion, who has yet to reach a quarterfinal in 2018, won 7-5 6-4 after nearly two hours at the Caja Magica.

Both men have slipped down the rankings after struggles with fitness and form, leading to their unusually early meeting in Madrid.

“It was strange playing Kei in the first round but our rankings dropped, due to injuries and everything that was happening for both of us in the last year,” Djokovic told Sport360.

.@DjokerNole survives one of his toughest first round encounters!

The 2x champ too good for Nishikori 7-5 6-4.#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/bAAnNU3ZaF

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 7, 2018

“It can happen, and it did happen here.”

It was Djokovic who came through a testing encounter of lengthy baseline rallies, finding his range as the match wore on after a scrappy start.

The Serb, now ranked No.12, clinched a 66-minute first set with a forehand winner on his third set point, and then the match when world No.20 Nishikori sent a backhand long in game 10 of the second.

“It was exactly what I needed for my confidence and for my game,” added Djokovic. “I’m just happy to go through this one.”

Two years ago, Djokovic completed the career Grand Slam by winning the French Open and took a seemingly unshakeable grip on the No.1 ranking.

ANALYSIS: Does Djokovic just need more match play?

However, his form dipped dramatically along with a persistent elbow injury, which eventually required surgery in February of this year.

“I ws very fortunate in my career to go in an upwards direction, for a decade I didn’t go out of the top 10,” he said.

“It had to happen and these are the circumstances I am facing at the moment, and I’m trying to get the best out of it. That’s life.”

Milos Raonic was among the other winners on Monday, the unseeded Canadian beating Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker 6-3 6-2, while Argentine 13th seed Diego Schwartzman beat Adrian Mannarino 6-1 6-3.