Novak Djokovic passed Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena to place his bid for a 10th Australian Open title on Tuesday, with the Serb enjoying a smashing reception following his deportation a year ago. The 35-year-old, who was ruled out of the tournament last year, showed little sign of the hamstring problem he suffered this month in Adelaide as he raced to victory at the Rod Laver Arena 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 . After being unable to play last year due to his stance on Covid vaccination, there were concerns about how he would be received by fans in Melbourne.
The city was under extended lockdown during the height of the pandemic.
But just like in Adelaide, the fourth seed walked out to loud cheers and chants of “Nole”, with vocal support during the game, from a stadium filled with Serbian flags.
“Thank you for giving me such a hospitable reception I could only dream of,” said Djokovic, who is chasing a record-tying 22nd major title.
“I’m really happy to be back here in Australia and on the pitch where I’ve had the greatest success of my career.
“This field is definitely the most special field in my life and I couldn’t wish for a better start to the tournament.”
He arrived at Melbourne Park in blistering form after capping off 2022 by winning another ATP Finals title, followed by a win at the Adelaide International.
As if that wasn’t daunting enough for 75th seed Carballes Baena, Djokovic came into contention having won his last 21 Australian Open matches.
He opened with an ace, but wasn’t quite happy initially and had to save three break points in the fifth game.
But he quickly settled the score and broke the next game to love for a 4-2 lead and closed the set.
His hamstring seemed to briefly bother him as he slid for a shot at 2-2 in the next set, but he pressed on and broke again for 4-3 when Carballes Baena scored a forehand.
Djokovic leveled up as the clock ticked past midnight in Melbourne and he broke immediately in the third set, with the Spaniard left unanswered as the former world number one raced to victory.
“I’m very, very happy with the way I played in the third set. I didn’t give him too much of a chance to breathe from the back of the pitch,” he said.
“I served very well. The second set was up and down and I thank him for his fight.”
During Djokovic’s absence last year, his old rival Rafael Nadal won the title and claimed a 21st Grand Slam, which he extended to 22 at the French Open.
Djokovic won Wimbledon to cut his deficit to 21 and he has made no secret of wanting more.
Additional motivation comes from the effort to become just the third player in history to win at least 10 titles at a single Grand Slam.
Only Nadal, with 14 at Roland Garros, and Margaret Court, who won 11 Australian Open titles, have more.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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