Novak Djokovic has brushed off a scare from a precocious teenager at the Australian Open for the second straight year to dodge disaster on Monday night.
On a day when Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov exited the event, a Djokovic loss to 19-year-old Nishesh Basavareddy would have been the greatest shock of all.
After a sluggish start, Novak Djokovic opened his Australian Open campaign successfully.Credit: Getty Images
American wildcard Basavareddy dreamed of playing Djokovic, then had the dream start before eventually losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to the super Serb.
“He was the better player for a set-and-a-half, and he deserved every bit of applause he got when he was exiting the court,” Djokovic said.
“To be really honest with you, I’d never seen him play up until three or four days ago. I didn’t know much about him, and these types of match-ups are always tricky.
“He’s a very complete player, and I was pleasantly surprised by all of his shots and fighting spirit, so I wish him all the best for the rest of his career.”
It was also a winning start for Djokovic’s new coach, Andy Murray, who spent the match in one of Open boss Craig Tiley’s courtside pods.
They engaged in an extended conversation at the end of the third set – after Djokovic’s tension-releasing guttural roar – that only added to the global fascination between this pairing.
There were no emotional eruptions, with Murray remaining composed from go to whoa.
“It’s all business for us [and] I’m thrilled to have him in my corner,” Djokovic said of Murray.
“It was a bit of a strange experience to have him courtside in my box [after we] played 20 years against each other at the highest level, but it’s great to have him on my side of the net.
“He gave me some great advice during the match … it was an enjoyable experience, and hopefully, we don’t stop here.”
Djokovic would have been forgiven for experiencing some deja vu.
After Croatian Dino Prizmic went blow-for-blow with Djokovic in the first round 12 months ago – including winning the second set – Basavareddy stunningly snatched the opening set on his grand slam debut.
Djokovic pays respect to his gallant opponent Nishesh Basavareddy.Credit: Getty Images
There were some uncharacteristic errors from Djokovic’s racquet, but there was also some inspired hitting from Basavareddy, who is already ranked 107 in the world.
He arrived confident after reaching the semi-finals in Auckland and climbing more than 300 ranking spots last year.
The teenager struck more winners (16-14) and made fewer unforced errors (8-11) than Djokovic in the first set, but also fended off a break point in three separate service games.
Djokovic’s only first-round defeats in his two-decade history at Melbourne Park were back in 2005 and 2006.
The problem for Basavareddy was how much punishment he was absorbing just to stay ahead.
At one stage, he had run more than 1.6 kilometres compared to Djokovic’s 959 metres.
Djokovic might be 37 and no longer the impenetrable force he once was, but he remains a hugely difficult out, in baseball parlance.
As impressive as Basavareddy’s start was, he appeared to be cramping in his left quadriceps before the second set was even over.
Andy Murray supporting Djokovic from the coach’s pod.Credit: Getty Images
He sought the trainer to massage the leg between the second and third sets, and began consuming bananas and energy gels in a desperate attempt to remain competitive.
On that front, Basavareddy was brave and somewhat successful, even after double-faulting to immediately go a break down in the third set.
He could easily have faded, but continued to fight and maintain respectability on a scoreboard that was increasingly moving in Djokovic’s favour.
Basavareddy even fended off two match points to force Djokovic to serve the match out.
It was a much smoother night for the man Djokovic beat in last year’s gold medal match at the Paris Olympics, Carlos Alcaraz.
Third-seeded Alcaraz, who is chasing a maiden Australian Open title that would deliver him a career grand slam, breezed past Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 7-5, 6-1.
Watch all the Australian Open action live on Nine, 9Now and Stan.
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