Novak Djokovic gets ball rolling with 4-hour marathon

MELBOURNE, January 14

Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka entertained bumper crowds with contrasting first-round victories over teenagers as the Australian Open got underway a day earlier than usual on Sunday.

Djokovic, who admitted he had been feeling under the weather for the last few days, needed more than four hours on Rod Laver Arena to subdue qualifier Dino Prizmic 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 and remain on course for an 11th title at Melbourne Park.

That kept Sabalenka waiting almost until midnight to open her title defence against Ella Seidel but the second seed did everyone a favour by making light work of the German qualifier with a quickfire 6-0 6-1 victory.

Djokovic’s contest was the longest first-round match he had ever played at a Major and he lavished praise on Grand Slam debutant Prizmic for taking the game to him. “I mean, I had an amazing opponent tonight,” he said of the Croatian.

“For an 18-year-old, he played so maturely and confidently on the court, fighting through, not giving up even when he was four down in the fourth set. I was impressed with his mentality, with his approach, with his game.”

Sabalenka was clearly delighted to be back at the site of her first Grand Slam triumph. “I’m super happy to be back. The last time I was here I had incredible memories, unforgettable memories,” the 26-year-old told the fans who stuck around to watch her ruthless 53-minute walloping of Seidel.

Sinner keeps it simple

In the first match of the day on the main showcourt, fourth seed Jannik Sinner, the hottest player on the men’s tour at the back end of last season, eased past Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4 7-5 6-3 in his first match of the new year. Cheered on by the “Carota Boys” — a band of fans dressed as carrots — the Italian was far from perfect but content to get through the contest in three sets.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev had a much tougher time getting into Round 2, pushed all the way by debutant Thiago Seyboth Wild in his 7-5 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(6) win.

Rublev was clearly furious at his inability to see off the world No. 78, who produced some sensational shots to frustrate the Russian and earn the support of the Margaret Court Arena crowd.

The addition of an extra day to the tournament to help clear the first round matches left the early schedule a little light on star power. — Reuters