Novak Djokovic won a hard-fought second-round match at the Italian Open against brilliant Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Serbia’s Djokovic won 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 after missing the recent Madrid Open due to an elbow ailment.

In Rome, where he has never lost before the quarter-finals, the defending champion is seeking for a seventh title.

British number one Cameron Norrie advanced to the third round by defeating France’s Alexandre Muller 6-2 6-3.

On Sunday, Norrie, 27, will face Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, who defeated Australia’s 17th seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4.

Djokovic, who turns 36 this month, will face Bulgaria’s 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated 2008 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

Top seed Djokovic overcame a shaky start against 23-year-old Etcheverry in only his eighth clay-court encounter of the season.

Despite seeming ill and characterizing the court as a “absolute disaster” due to “too much clay,” Djokovic rallied from 3-0 and 5-3 down in the first set tie-break.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion raised his game in the second set, breaking 61st-ranked Etcheverry’s serve twice.

“I’m still not at the desired level, still finding my shots and finding my groove on the court,” Djokovic, who will be replaced as world number one by Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz after the tournament, told Amazon Prime.

“I started slowly, but by the end of the first, I had found my groove.” The second set was excellent, especially the last three or four games.

“I was pleased with how I finished the match.”