Novak Djokovic built up a head of steam while losing nine consecutive games over two sets. He let it out by tossing his ballcap after finally winning a game in the third.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia runs down a return during his victory against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on Monday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
"If I could pull my hair off, I would do it in that moment," he said.
That wasn't the only trouble the world's No. 2 player ran into Monday.
Djokovic staved off triple match point in the third to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) in third-round play at the BNP Paribas Open.
Djokovic, the 2008 champion, trailed love-40 on his serve in the 10th game, but got back into the match mostly on Kohlschreiber's mistakes. The Serb's forehand volley winner saved the first match point, then Kohlschreiber wasted two consecutive backhands for deuce.
Djokovic's ace and subsequent double-fault led to a second deuce before two straight errors by the German tied the set at 5-all.
"When I needed to, I did the work, served well and made some good approaches from the forehand side," Djokovic said. "He could easily be the winner of this match and he would deserve it."
Kohlschreiber held for his last lead at 6-5, then Djokovic served a love game.
The Serb led 4-0 in the tiebreak before closing out the 2½-hour match with a forehand winner. Both players struggled with errors in the midday desert sun, with Kohlschreiber committing 51 to 43 for Djokovic.
Defending champion and third-ranked Rafael Nadal needed just over an hour to put away Mario Ancic of Croatia, 6-2, 6-2, in front of a sparse stadium court crowd.
Nadal lost just one first-serve point and never faced a break point in beating Ancic for the fourth time in five meetings.
U.S. Davis Cup teammates John Isner and Sam Querry were to meet in a night match, after Kim Clijsters continued her comeback against Alisa Kleybanova of Russia.
Djokovic was still delighted about meeting Pete Sampras for the first time last week, the 14-time Grand Slam champion whom he called his "lifetime idol."
"He's the one that gave me a lot of motivation to became a professional player because I didn't have anyone playing tennis in my family. I had to do it myself," Djokovic said.
The 22-year-old went into the meeting believing it was no big deal
"But it was incredible," he said. "He tells you, 'You win with your mind and your heart.' He promised to hit with me."
SOURCE: The Associated Press
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