Djokovic made sluggish begins to his opening two matches however the fired-up world primary bolted out of the blocks for a 3-Zero lead and let slip two alternatives to interrupt Rio champion Norrie a second time earlier than taking the primary set on serve.
The duo swapped breaks early in a spicy second set the place Norrie’s overhead shot hit Djokovic on the leg after the Serbian had turned his again on the web. The 22-times Grand Slam champion continued to stare down Norrie on the finish of the fifth sport.
An error-prone Norrie surrendered his serve once more and had remedy for a proper leg challenge, earlier than prime seed Djokovic got here from 0-30 down within the remaining sport of the competition to finish the victory over the world quantity 13 on his second match level.
“Thus far so good,” Djokovic, who will meet seventh seed Holger Rune or Alexei Popyrin within the final eight, stated of his progress in Rome.
“It was an early begin right now. Unusual situations. I really completed my warm-up 10 minutes earlier than I went on the court docket so I used to be speeding a bit with the whole lot however we could not play earlier due to the rain.
“I am simply glad to beat right now’s problem in straight units and transfer on.”
Djokovic skipped the Madrid occasion on account of an elbow damage and frolicked getting remedy for an unspecified challenge earlier than Tuesday’s match however the 35-year-old stated there was no trigger for recent concern.
“Every single day there’s one thing,” stated Djokovic. “Fortunately I used to be capable of play and end the match and hopefully tomorrow I’ll really feel even higher.”
Iga Swiatek continues her title defence when she takes on Donna Vekic for a spot within the girls’s quarter-finals.
(With inputs from Reuters)
