Novak Djokovic won his first match since confirming the departure of his coaching staff, beating Nicolas Almagro at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
The world No 2 won 6-1 4-6 7-5 in the second round of the tournament having announced that he was ending relationships with coach Marian Vajda, fitness coach Gebhard Phil Gritsch, and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic earlier this week.
“It’s the first match without my team that’s been with me for 10 years,” Djokovic said. “I’m already used to it. My brother is there with me.”
Djokovic refused to discuss whether he would appoint Andre Agassi at his new head coach. He will play either Gilles Simon or Feliciano Lopez in the next round.
Elsewhere, David Ferrer benefited from a walk-over against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to set up a third-round tie against Kei Nishikori, who beat Diego Sebastian Schartzman 1-6 6-0 6-4.
