For without a big first under the eyes of his new coach, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic had a complicated start before winning against American hope Nishesh Basavareddy (107e world) : 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–1.
As he faced Nole in his “backyard”, the Rod Laver Arena where the Serbian has triumphed ten times in the past, the 19-year-old did not seem impressed. He got into his match perfectly against a rather slow and laborious Djokovic, especially when it came to speeding up the game.
Trailing from the start of the tournament, the man with 24 Grand Slam titles pulled himself together. He regained the upper hand in the second set, after which Basavareddy requested a medical time-out due to cramps.
The lack of experience undoubtedly paid for itself for the American, and Nole took advantage of it to break at the start of the third round. After a discussion with Murray at the end, the Belgrade native calmly finished the job. In just under three hours of play and still with 40 unforced errors on the clock.
Djokovic faces Jaime Faria (125e) in the second round.
Published on Monday January 13, 2025 at 12:17 p.m.
