Second seed Novak Djokovic takes on 31st seed Juan Martin del Potro in the Men's singles third round of BNP Paribas Open 2017 in Indian Wells on Tuesday.
The world number two was pushed to the limits by Britain's Kyle Edmund in his second-round clash on Sunday. After conceding the first set 4-6, the 22-year-old was serving for second set at 5-3 but Djokovic clawed back to take it 7-6 (5). On the other hand, the 28-year-old Argentine outclassed compatriot Federico Delbonis 7-6 (5), 6-3 to make the progress.
Djokovic, who began the year with a bang by clinching the Qatar Open title, has been lacklustre since then. A second-round exit from Australian Open following defeat to unseeded Denis Istomin and a quarter-final exit last week in Acapulco means the Serb has quite a lot of work in the season to do to retain his position at the top-two spots.
A successful title defence in California, which is hosting top stars including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka, will be a big boost for Djokovic but he will face a tough road ahead, starting with Del Potro in tomorrow's match after which he is expected to meet Nick Kyrgios, who decimated him in Acapulco, in the next round before a potential clash with either Federer or Nadal in the quarter-final.
Djokovic has had a lot of success (12-4 head-to-head record) against Del Potro and is the favourite on Tuesday but the Argentine has been testing him in their last two meets. While the world number 35 stunned the Serb at Rio Olympics last year after clinching two tie-breakers, he won the first set last week in Acapulco before the 12-time Grand Slam champion fought back.
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