Mon, Jan 15, 2024 page7

• Djokovic survives first-timer in opener

  MARATHON MEN: The four-hour match finished after 11pm, delaying Sabalenka’s opener, while Rublev also needed four hours to overcome Seyboth Wild to advance

  • AP, MELBOURNE
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  Until he took on defending champion Novak Djokovic at Rod Laver Arena yesterday in the Australian Open, Dino Prizmic had never played a Grand Slam match.

  The 18-year-old Croatian qualifier, who was born seven months after Djokovic made his Grand Slam debut in 2005, made it last as long as he could, unsettling the 24-time major winner at times before Djokovic finished off the match 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4.

  Djokovic made his Grand Slam debut at Melbourne Park in 2005 and has developed a record at the Australian Open that no man can match, with 10 titles here among his unprecedented career haul.

  

  Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates beating Croatia’s Dino Prizmic in their men’s singles match on the first day of the Australian Open in Melbourne yesterday.

  Photo: AFP

  The first set played out just about as expected. From there, it became quite a ride.

  Prizmic took the second set off Djokovic and went up a break in the third, stunning a capacity crowd, before the world’s No. 1-ranked player broke back and took the set.

  Prizmic did not give up when he trailed 4-0 in the fourth, either, saving a breakpoint before getting a service break back. He saved three match points at 5-3 down and made Djokovic serve it out. He then saved a further two match points before it ended in 4 hours, 1 minute.

  “He deserved every applause, every credit he got tonight,” Djokovic said. “Amazing performance for someone that is 18 years old and never had the experience of playing on a big stage. Kudos to him.”

  The first of three Sundays — an extra day was introduced at Melbourne Park to try to reduce the number of post-midnight finishes — did not have quite the desired outcome.

  Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev needed four hours to beat Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (10/6).

  No. 12 Taylor Fritz needed a medical timeout to get his left ankle taped in the second set before he recovered to beat Facundo Diaz Acosta 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a seesawing four-hour match.

  Djokovic’s match finished after 11pm, making for a late start for defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka.

  The first match on Rod Laver was over quickly, with Italy’s Davis Cup star Jannik Sinner advancing after a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 first-round win over No. 59-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp in two-and-a-half hours. It was his first match since a memorable November when he twice beat Djokovic and won the Davis Cup.

  “Means a lot to me to start off with a win,” fourth-seeded Sinner said in a post-match TV interview as a half-dozen fans dressed in carrot costumes cheered from the stands. “Physically, I feel good. I’m here in good shape. I think I can be happy for today.”

  Women’s eighth seed Maria Sakkari admitted her relief after she beat Nao Hibino of Japan 6-4, 6-1, her first Grand Slam win since last year’s Australian Open.

  “I lost three first rounds in my last three Grand Slams,” she said. “For me, it was a very difficult match today emotionally. I’m happy I managed to do the job right and play a good second set.”

  Two 16-year-old players advanced to the second round: Brenda Fruhvirtova recorded her first Grand Slam win, overcoming Anna Bogdan 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 and Alina Korneeva — the Australian Open junior champion last year — who rallied to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

  In women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium, and Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico are to start their openers tomorrow.

  Additional reporting by staff writer
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