‘I played as well as I can’ – Novak Djokovic cruises past Cristian Garin in straight sets at Astana Open

Novak Djokovic says he played “as well as I can” in his dominant 6-1 6-1 victory over Cristian Garin in the first round of the Astana Open.

Djokovic broke straight away and did so on two more occasions as he raced to the first set in 24 minutes.

It was more of the same in the second set as he won a sensational point to break in the fourth game before going on to take the win.

He will play Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round on Thursday.

“From the start to the end it was a great performance,” said Djokovic. “Playing in a new tournament in different conditions, first match, it’s never easy.

“You are looking to see how you can adapt but I did it perfectly really. I played as well as I can, just made him work and used every opportunity that was presented to me.”

The Serbian looked extremely strong and is the favourite to win this week’s tournament in Kazakhstan.

Asked how long it took him to adjust to the slower conditions in Astana compared to Tel Aviv, Djokovic said: “I was lucky that throughout my career I was pretty good to adjusting to different conditions and surfaces.

“I think that experience comes with knowing what to do.

“Winning a tournament, losing in a final or a semi-final makes a difference mentally. Coming into this tournament, I feel excited and motivated so I think that helps to adjust quickly.”

Elsewhere, David Goffin, who stunned Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday, lost his Last 16 match against Adrian Mannarino, whilst Roberto Bautista Agut and Andrey Rublev joined the Frenchman in the quarter-finals.

Stefanos Tsitsipas plays Luca Nardi later on Wednesday.