First-round matches can be tricky even for the Australian Open champion. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic realised that on Tuesday as Czech qualifier Tomas Machac put him through the wringer. But the top seed played the crunch points better to notch a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in the first round of the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship on Tuesday.

The Serbian led the applause as the packed stadium stood up to cheer Machac after the match that lasted two hours and 27 minutes. “Tomas [Machac] didn’t play like 130 in the world. He played great tennis and deserves a great round of applause. He was giving me all kinds of trouble. But when it mattered, I found another gear,” Djokovic said after the match.

After Djokovic swept the first set in 37 minutes, Machac dug deep into his reserves and produced some scintillating tennis. He served well and came up to the net to put away winning volleys winners whenever the opportunity presented. A drop volley that died in the forecourt was the best.

Djokovic was unable to pick the Czech’s double-fisted backhands down the line as Machac won the second set and went toe-to-toe in the decider. They even traded breaks, but Djokovic steamed away in the tiebreaker.

After winning his 22nd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open to equal Spaniard Rafael Nadal’s record, the Serbian World No. 1 was recovering from injuries. The Dubai tournament was Djokovic’s first match since his recovery.

“Physically, you can always be better. I demand the highest of standards and qualities of tennis in preparation I can possibly get. I did struggle with injury for several weeks. It took a little bit of time to get used to holding a racquet. I haven’t played much tennis [before] coming into Dubai. So, I am hoping that as the tournament progresses, I can raise my level of tennis as well,” Djokovic said.