ROME — The strange became normal at the third round of the Italian Open on Thursday, beginning with Novak Djokovic being blanked in his opening set against 37th-ranked Thomaz Bellucci before recovering for a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Djokovic called the opening set “a complete Bellucci storm.” When he finally got on the board by holding his serve in the opening game of the second set, he celebrated by raising his arms high into the air.
“Sometimes if you don’t start well and your opponent is seeing the ball like a watermelon, that’s what happens,” Djokovic said.