Novak Djokovic is fast approaching his peak tennis powers ahead of the French Open.
The latest indication of the world no.1’s return to form came at his first match in the Italian Open.
The Serb brushed aside Aslan Karatsev, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the ATP 1000 event.
It was a fitting way for Djokovickicked off his quest for a sixth Italian Open title after being handed a first-round bye.
He is also battling to save his no.1 ranking.
If Djokovic does not reach the semi-finals in Rome, he will surrender the top spot in the rankings to Daniil Medvedev once again.
He did not have any hiccups against Karatsev, who had beaten him in Belgrade last year.
After being broken in his first game, Djokovic found his footing to win the first set.
The second set was more straightforward as he surged to a 4-0 lead as Karatsev struggled to make any real impact against his accurate delivery.
The Serbian had no issues serving out to complete victory in 91 minutes and move into a 2-1 ATP Head2Head series lead over Karatsev.
Djokovic will look to maintain that form for his third-round clash against fellow Serbian Laslo Djere or former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, as he continues to look for a maiden title in 2022 in the Italian capital.
Joining him in progressing were the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime who overcame Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 after three hours and two minutes to reach the third round of the Italian Open.
The 13th seed Denis Shapovalov put his first match controversy behind him to defeat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 7-6(5).
The lefty will challenge third seed Rafael Nadal or big-serving American John Isner for a place in the quarter-finals.
Filip Krajinovic upset Andrey Rublev after nullifying the sixth seed’s powerful groundstrokes to surge to a 6-2, 6-4 to progress while Jannik Sinner won 6-4, 6-3 over Pedro Martinez to set up a next round clash against fellow countryman Fabio Fognini.
