World No 1
Novak Djokovic booked his third-round spot at Indian Wells on Sunday,
fending off Bjorn Fratangelo in three sets to win 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The
defending two-time champion has now won 12 consecutive matches at
Indian Wells and is trying to become the first player in tournament
history to claim five titles.
After
the victory in difficult, windy conditions, Djokovic next faces German
Philipp Kohlschreiber who swept past Denis Kudla 6-0, 6-1.
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| Novak Djokovic (left) met up with former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson at Indian Wells |
Djokovic said: 'All credit to Bjorn on playing a great match, but I wasn't feeling comfortable at all on the court
'I was just trying to find a way, trying to hang in there and make it through.'
The
22-year-old Fratangelo was the French Open boys' champion in 2011 and
turned pro in 2012, but has been playing almost exclusively on the
satellite tours. He's ranked No 149 and his first-round win on Friday
was his first in four matches on the ATP World Tour.
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| The world No 1 is trying to become the first player in tournament history to claim five titles |
He
took a 4-0 lead in the opening set and kept the match interesting until
Djokovic got back-to-back service breaks en route to winning the final
five games.
'He deserved every point he got,' Djokovic said. 'He played a great match, especially in the first set.'
Men's
fifth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan got his tournament under way with a
6-3, 6-3 win over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan; No 7 Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga of France beat countryman Vincent Millot; and No 31 Sam Querrey
of the US overcame Thiemo De Bakker 7-6, 6-4.
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| Bjorn Fratangelo was the French Open boys' champion in 2011 and turned pro in 2012 |
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