TORONTO -- World No. 1 Novak Djokovic survived a scare from Gilles Muller 7-5, 7-6 (3) on Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
Djokovic struggled on the hard court, both with his serves and his short game.
Unforced errors were Muller's undoing, with both sets easily in reach of the unseeded player from Luxembourg.
Canadians Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov were scheduled for singles action on Wednesday evening.
Djokovic had trouble putting Muller away in the first set. A series of three consecutive unforced errors by Muller helped Djokovic regain control and eventually winning a break point.
The top-seeded Serb also struggled in the second set thanks in part to a 43 per cent success rate on his first serves, quickly falling behind 3-2. He tied it 3-3 on a stretched-out volley to centre court, but Muller replied with an overhead smash to again take the lead.
After trading two more games, Djokovic tied it, then forced a break point. Muller won it with a cutting cross-court backhand for advantage at 5-5 then followed up with an ace to take a 6-5 lead.
A backhand into the net by Muller tied it 6-6 and led to a tiebreak.
Muller came apart in the tiebreak, giving up several unforced errors, including a wide shot to end the match.
Also in second round play, Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic downed Peter Polansky of nearby Thornhill, Ont., 7-6 (5), 6-4.
No. 2 seed Stan Wawrinka topped Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8), third seed Kei Nishikori downed Dennis Novikov 6-4, 7-5 and fifth seed Tomas Berdych dispatched Borna Coric 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Ryan Harrison upset ninth seeded John Isner 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4), 6-4 and Rajeev Ram beat Lucas Pouille 6-4, 7-6 (5).
