Novak Djokovic Tested By Wildcard Basavareddy In Australian Open Win - UBITENNIS

Novak Djokovic Tested By Wildcard Basavareddy In Australian Open Win

By Adam Addicott
4 Min Read

Novak Djokovic has begun his quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open by battling back from a set down to win his opening match.

The 10-time champion was put through his paces by 19-year-old rising star Nishesh Basavareddy before prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Basavareddy decided to forgo his college career to turn professional last month and made his ATP main draw debut earlier this year in Brisbane. On paper, Djokovic was expected to dictate the encounter but this wasn’t the case with the Serbian having to play for almost 90 minutes before he got his first break in the match.

Djokovic’s experience proved pivotal in the first round against Basavareddy who suffered from cramping towards the end of the second set and then started to appear more wary on the court. He has now won 378 Grand Slam matches which is more than any other male player in the Open Era. Furthermore, he has won 16 out of 17 matches against wild cards at major events with his only defeat being against Denis Istomin eight years ago in Melbourne.

“He was a better player for a set and a half, and he deserves every bit of applause that he got when he was exiting the court performance,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview.

“To be really honest, I’ve never seen him play up to maybe three or four days ago, so I didn’t know much about him.

“These kind of matchups are always dangerous when you’re playing somebody that has nothing to lose.

“He is a very complete player and he did very pleasantly surprise me with all of his shots and with fighting spirit towards the end.”

Watching the world No.7 from the sidelines was Andy Murray who joined Djokovic’s team last month as a coach. The partnership is set to continue until the end of this tournament but could be extended.

“It’s all business now for us,” Djokovic said of working with Murray.

“I’m thrilled to have him in my corner. It was a little bit of a strange experience to have him right courtside in my box. We played for over 20 years against each other on the highest level and great to have him on the same side of the net.

“he gave me some great advice mid-match. it’s really good that we have an opportunity now to have coaching and the same side so you can exchange some feedback.

“It’s been an enjoyable experience. Hopefully we don’t stop here.”

Awaiting the former world No.1 in the next round will be Portugal’s Jaime Faria who is one of two players to make it through to the last 64. Something that has never happened before at the Australian Open. Faria beat Pavel Kotov 6-1, 6-1, 7-5, and is on a four-match winning run after coming through qualifying.

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