Novak Djokovic’s quest to win a record 25th Grand Slam title started on a rather shaky note.
An American teenager rattled the Serbian in the first round of the Australian Open.
The crowd at Melbourne Park watched in stunned silence as Nishesh Basavareddy did the unthinkable, taking the first set 4-6.
The Serbian made 11 unforced errors in the first set and failed to take advantage of the three breakpoints he worked.
Nishesh Basavareddy played to the delight of the cheering Melbourne Park crowd as the 24-time Grand Slam winner struggled to cope with the athleticism of the teenager.
However, Djokovic got control of the match in the second set and cruised to a comfortable 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Djokovic was full of praise for the youngster in his post-match commentary.
“At the end it was great but I think he was the better player for a set-and-a-half,” said seventh seed Djokovic. “He deserves every bit of applause that he got.
“These kind of matchups are always tricky, dangerous when you are playing someone who has nothing to lose. He’s a very complete player.”
Djokovic cruised into the second round of the Australian Open for the 18th consecutive year.
Novak Djokovic hired former rival and multiple Grand Slam winner Andy Murray as coach to help me in his quest of reaching 11 Australian Open titles.
The Olympic gold medalist sat courtside in the Rod Laver Arena in one of the newly introduced “coaching pods”.
The Serbian will take on Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria in the second round as he continues his dream of surpassing Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
