29 matches have been won by Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.
Defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who defeated teenage qualifier Dino Prizmic in the longest first-round Grand Slam match of his career, said it felt like “playing myself in the mirror.”
In four hours and one minute, Djokovic—who is attempting to win a record-tying eleventh men’s title in Melbourne—beat the 18-year-old 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4.
In his first Grand Slam encounter, Croat Prizmic, who was playing against his childhood idol, saved six set points before Djokovic, 36, won.
“[He] is really talented. The 178th-ranked opponent has all he needs and can yet become better, according to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
“I really enjoy the way he is psychologically there on the court. He never gives up.
“I had the impression that I was battling with myself in the mirror. Really, he has no vulnerabilities.”
This month, Djokovic might win a record-tying 25 Grand Slam singles titles. However, he later claimed to have been “under the weather.”
Prizmic, who won the boys’ division at the French Open the previous year, has a promising future ahead of him based on his breakthrough performance on Rod Laver Arena, even though the Serb will face either Marc Polmans or Alexei Popyrin in the second round.
The contest on Sunday was longer than Djokovic’s previous record for the longest first-round match in a major, which was a three-hour, fifty-seven-minute affair against Gael Monfils at the 2005 US Open.
After Djokovic won the opening set easily, few could have predicted the captivating battle that ensued.
However, Prizmic gave an indication of what was to come when he broke Djokovic for the first time in the second set to take a 3-1 lead. He then maintained his composure to win the fourth set point in the tiebreaker.
That created an exciting environment for the third set, which Djokovic won by winning four straight games—but only after Prizmic had rallied from a two-game deficit with a double break.
And while Djokovic’s run of form in the fourth set appeared to be a formality with a 4-0 lead, his youthful opponent would not go down without a fight, breaking back and then saving four match points in the ninth game to force the top seed to serve out the triumph.
“He is deserving of all the praise. He is a fantastic player who performed flawlessly under pressure. It’s his time,” Djokovic remarked.
“He could have easily been the opponent as well. He displayed a strong work ethic and fortitude.
“I want to be by his side for sure. I’m hoping that he will extend an invitation to me, as I know he will achieve great things in his career.”
Rublev, “Panicking,” prevails in five sets.
The nine times Andrey Rublev made it to the quarterfinals were his greatest Grand Slam performances.
Despite being “totally panicked,” fifth seed Andrei Rublev overcame a strong challenge from world no. 78 Thiago Seyboth Wild to prevail in a gripping five-set match.
The 26-year-old Russian advanced to a second-round match against either American Christopher Eubanks or Japan’s Taro Daniel. Daniel hopes to make it to his first major semifinal in 2024.
“In the fifth set, I became emotional. I let out several screams. I was griping. That’s why it was more difficult for me to control my emotions in the fifth set when I started to feel panicked,” Rublev said.
On the court, Rublev has occasionally had trouble controlling his feelings. He whacked himself with his racket so hard against Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Finals in November that he drew blood.
Rublev claimed that the fact that his personal friend and fellow countryman Daniil Medvedev lost in five sets to Brazilian Seyboth Wild in the French Open the previous year added to his own sense of pressure.
“Daniil, Daniil. I was utterly panicked during the fifth set, so for the majority of it—at least once or twice per game—I was thinking about what had happened to Daniil.”
In other news, the Greek seventh seed will now face Belgian Zizou Bergs after former semifinalist Matteo Berrettini withdrew due to a foot ailment prior to his first-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
12th-seeded American Taylor Fritz overcame Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta in five sets, having to rally from a two-set deficit to win 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-4.
Frances Tiafoe, a 17th-seeded compatriot, advanced as well after defeating Croat Borna Coric 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 2-6 6-3.
2018 runner-up Marin Cilic of Croatia fell to Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
In an effort to prevent late finishes, the Australian Open has been extended to 15 days this year, with Sunday starting for the first time.
