Seventh seed Novak Djokovic claims his 95th win at the Australian Open over American Nishesh Basavareddy in four sets, progressing to the second round in Melbourne. Home star Nick Kyrgios and 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas fell in their opening rounds on Monday.
Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic launched his campaign at Melbourne Park with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over wild card Nishesh Basavareddy just under three hours on Monday at Rod Laver Arena.
In pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title, the Serbian made a slow start to his opener round, rallying from a set down to defeat the 19-year-old American player, who was contesting his first match at a major.
Coach Andy Murray followed the action and interacted with his pupil from the coaching box now placed courtside.
Assessing the first match with Murray in his team, the 37-year-old commented: “It’s all business now for us; I am thrilled to have him in my corner.
“It was a little bit of a strange experience to have him courtside in my box. We played against each other for over 20 years, and it’s great to have him on the same side of the net.”
The Belgrade-born held his nerve when the fast teenager broke his serve to take a 4-3 lead, finding his way through a 5-4 advantage.
In their first encounter on tour, the Next Gen Finals competitor moved ahead to steal the set from the former world No. 1 in just 49 minutes.
However, as the second set wore on, the world No. 7 started to find his rhythm, setting in motion a solid recovery to level up one set apiece.
Meanwhile, world No. 107 experienced some physical discomfort in his left leg, which led him to call for a medical time-out.
Nonetheless, the setback did not shadow the level he delivered on his Slam debut under heavy pressure.
Eventually, the experienced champion navigated out of danger, winning three sets in a row to set up a second-round match-up against the Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria.
He praised Murray, sharing the Scot’s gave him “some great advice mid-match.”
Furthermore, Djokovic shared his thoughts on Basavareddy in his on-court interview: “I think he was the better player for a set and a half and deserves every bit of applause he got when he was leaving the court.
“I’d never seen him play until maybe three or four days ago, so I didn’t know much about him. These kinds of match-ups are always tricky and dangerous when you’re playing somebody with nothing to lose.”
“He’s a very complete player, the 99-ATP titlist added. “He did very pleasantly surprise me with his shots and fighting spirit towards the end, so I wish him all the very best for the rest of his career.”
Faria, 21, has never faced the seventh seed at tour level.
The world No. 125 easily beat Pavel Kotov 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 in one hour and 45 minutes.
On a further note, Briton Jake Fearnley ousted home hope Nick Kyrgios 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-6(2) to achieve his first match win at a major.
In addition, American Alex Michelsen upset 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to power into the second round at John Cain Arena.
“He was a difficult first-round match,” the Greek said. “I knew I was dealing with a pretty serious opponent because I’ve played him before, and I’ve lost.”
Last season, the Athens native lost in the fourth round to the No. 1 American racquet Taylor Fritz.