Novak Djokovic began his quest for an 11th Australian Open title on Monday night, but his first match with former rival Andy Murray as his coach didn’t start as planned. Facing 19-year-old Nishesh Basavareddy, making his Grand Slam debut, Djokovic dropped the opening set 4-6.
Despite the early setback, the 24-time Grand Slam champion rallied to win the next three sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, securing his place in the second round of the tournament. The Serbian star expressed his excitement about having Murray in his corner.
“I’m obviously thrilled to have him in my corner,” Djokovic said about Murray. “I must say, it was a little bit of a strange experience to have him courtside in my box. We’ve played against each other for over 20 years at the highest level. It’s great to have him on the same side of the net. He gave me some great advice mid-match.”
The match saw occasional interactions between the two 37-year-olds, who were born a week apart and have been opponents since the age of 12, including in multiple Grand Slam finals. Murray retired at the Paris Olympics in August, and Djokovic proposed the coaching partnership in November.
Djokovic displayed his signature intensity after a crucial break at the 1.5-hour mark. Following a missed forehand from Basavareddy, he let out a yell, clenched his fist, and pointed to his ear, signaling a momentum shift. The young American began to struggle physically, taking a medical timeout before the third set.
With this victory, Djokovic has now won at least one Grand Slam men’s singles match in 21 different seasons, a feat only surpassed by Roger Federer. Up next, Djokovic will face Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria.
In other action, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz commenced his bid to complete a career Grand Slam with a commanding 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko. The 21-year-old four-time major champion aims to become the youngest man to capture all four Grand Slam titles and showed impressive form despite a nervy start.
Meanwhile, 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov became the first top-10 player to exit the tournament, retiring due to injury while trailing 7-5, 2-1 against Italy’s Francesco Passaro, a lucky loser from qualifying.
Reference(s):
Djokovic survives Australian Open scare, Alcaraz reaches second round
cgtn.com
