Novak Djokovic defeated France’s Quentin Halys in two tie-break sets on Thursday to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Adelaide tournament in Australia.
The Serbian, seeded number 1, will face Canadian world number 18 Denis Shapovalov in the next round, after suffering against Quentin Halys (7-6 7/3, 7-6 7/5).
For starters, the 35-year-old world No. 5 found himself down 2-5 in the first round, before coming back on top to win.
Halys, 64th in the world “played like a member of the top 10 today,” he hailed, deeming these two tiebreakers the more “realistic” outcome of this matchup.
Novak Djokovic notably lost his entrance service in front of an audience largely won over by his cause.
The winner of the last Wimbledon tournament – and four other tournaments in 2022 – had to wait for the eighth game to turn the tide and head towards a first tie-break from which he emerged victorious.
The second set was also suspended, but it was once again the Serbian who had the last word in the decisive match, while Quentin Halys had saved two match points at 5-4.
The tournament in Adelaide is a key step in the preparation of Novak Djokovic, who will be looking for a 10th Australian Open crown, after being banned last year after a cheating over their vaccination status.
However, he leaves the ultra favorite against Denis Shapovalov, who has lost his last seven meetings against ‘Djoko’.
But the Canadian is doing well, he who led his country to victory in the last Davis Cup.
And he comes out of a match much less hung than his future opponent won 6-4 6-3 against Roman Safiullin, from the qualifiers.
“As for my game, I feel good on the pitch,” Novak Djokovic assured.