{"id":359805,"date":"2024-01-14T12:16:21","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T13:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=359805"},"modified":"2024-01-14T14:02:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-14T14:02:14","slug":"djokovic-escapes-as-new-kid-stuns-tennis-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=359805","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic escapes as new kid stuns tennis world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until he took on defending champion Novak Djokovic<\/a> at Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open<\/a> on Sunday, Dino Prizmic had never played a grand slam match.<\/p>\n

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 before Djokovic finished off the match 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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The first set played out just about as expected. From there, it became quite a ride.<\/p>\n

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 man broke back and took the set.<\/p>\n

Prizmic didn't give up when he trailed 4-0 in the fourth, either, saving a break point 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 four hours and one minute.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserved every applause, every credit he got tonight,\u201d Djokovic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing performance for someone that is 18 years old and never had the experience of playing on a big stage. Kudos to him."<\/p>\n

\"Novak<\/p>\n

The first of three Sundays \u2014 an extra day was introduced at Melbourne Park to try to reduce the number of post-midnight finishes \u2014 didn't have quite the desired outcome.<\/p>\n

Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev needed four hours to beat Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (6). He later admitted fears his first-round match against Seyboth Wild would end like his friend Daniil Medvedev's did at last year's French Open: in an upset.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Djokovic's match finished after 11pm, making for a late start for defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.<\/p>\n

The first match on Rod Laver Arena 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeans a lot to me to start off with a win,\u201d fourth-seeded Sinner said as a half-dozen fans dressed in carrot costumes cheered from the stands.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhysically, I feel good. I\u2019m here in good shape. I think I can be happy for today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Novak<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s 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\u2019s Australian Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost three first rounds in my last three grand slams,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it was a very difficult match today emotionally. I\u2019m happy I managed to do the job right and play a good second set.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also advancing were 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, who beat 17-year-old Sara Bejlek 7-6 (5), 6-2, and No.9 Barbora Krejcikova, who rallied from a set and a break down to beat Mai Hontama 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 the Australian Open junior champion last year \u2014 who rallied to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.<\/p>\n

Another Russian qualifier, Maria Timofeeva, had a 6-2, 6-4 win over Alize Cornet, who was appearing in a women\u2019s record 68th consecutive grand slam event.<\/p>\n

\"Novak's<\/p>\n

Timofeeva will next face 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki, who in her first Australian Open since becoming a mom advanced when 20th-seeded Magda Linette retired while trailing 6-2, 2-0.<\/p>\n

Amanda Anisimova continued her comeback from a career break with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 13-seeded Liudmila Samsonova.<\/p>\n

Rublev did it tough, wasting four match points in the 12th game of the fifth set. He fell behind 5-2 in the match tiebreaker before regaining his composure, winning eight of the next nine points to clinch it.<\/p>\n

He slumped to the ground, then got up quickly, embraced Seyboth Wild, who was making his debut in the Australian Open main draw, and roared triumphantly.<\/p>\n

Seyboth Wild upset major winner Medvedev in the first round at Roland Garros last year and Rublev admitted he felt the momentum going the same way before he decided to relax and go for broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, I will not forget this one,\u201d said Rublev, who opened the year with a title in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

\u201cThiago is a super dangerous player. Super talented. He\u2019s hitting so hard, so clean."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Until he took on defending champion Novak Djokovic at Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open on Sunday, Dino Prizmic had never played a grand […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":359807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=359805"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359811,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359805\/revisions\/359811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/359807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=359805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=359805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=359805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}