Melbourne (SID) – Defending champion Novak Djokovic has mastered the first difficult test at this year’s Australian Open. The world number one from Serbia beat the American Frances Tiafoe in his tricky second round duel in Melbourne after a hard fight over 3:30 hours with 6: 3, 6: 7 (3: 7), 7: 6 (7: 2), 6: 3.
“That was a tough match in difficult conditions,” said Djokovic afterwards: “It was very hot on the pitch and Frances played so well and gave everything.”
The first set went as planned for the favorite. But then Tiafoe increased the intensity and hit Djokovic hard. In the tie-break of the second set, the outsider played a big role and cheered every point frenetically – the audience in the Rod Laver Arena also went along.
Djokovic, with eight titles the record champion of the tournament, stayed on track and showed strong nerves in the third set. The match was now down to the substance. Tiafoe exceeded the time frame between the rallies several times and thereby lost first serves, the 23-year-old American cursed loudly and discussed with the chair umpire.
Djokovic took advantage of Tiafoe’s small weaknesses and took the next step in the tournament. This year he is aiming for his 18th Grand Slam triumph. This would mean that the 33-year-old would shorten the gap to the major record champions Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Roger Federer (Switzerland / both 20).