Novak Djokovic wins against 18-year-old wild card Dino Prizmic in the Australian Open

“I had problems in some phases of the match. But that was mainly due to my opponent and his match plan. He had an answer to everything and played very physically. I had a few good moments, but in some situations I would have liked that I would have played better and more aggressively,” Novak Djokovic explained after the game.

Dino Prizmic put in “an incredibly good performance for an 18-year-old.” “He fought brilliantly – even when he was 4-0 down in the fourth set. He showed a great mentality and let me really run, that’s for sure.”

Djokovic initially showed a concentrated performance against the blatant outsider, who had his left thigh bandaged in the first set.

The Serb opened the match with a break and brought home the first set after 42 minutes.

However, anyone who expected the record Grand Slam champion to make a breakthrough was disappointed. Qualifier Prizmic forced Djokovic into a tiebreak in the second set – and won it 7:5.

That’s how it works against Djokovic – outsider breaks superstar

“Djokovic has to be careful now, find his attitude. He seems too relaxed, has to pull himself together. Prizmic is just playing very good tennis at the moment,” said Eurosport expert Boris Becker.

Djokovic takes back the lead in the set

In fact, Djokovic made a noticeable number of mistakes, and the 36-year-old also had difficulty with his serve games in the third set. After all, after conceding the break to make it 2-3, the defending champion fought back.

Djokovic won three games in a row – with a lot of effort and defending two break points. On his own serve, the champion got through the set, which lasted 71 minutes. Exactly three hours had been played at this point.

Emotional outburst: Djokovic grabs the lead in the set

Prizmic delivers a huge fight until the end

Only now has the world number one managed to develop the expected dominance against the Grand Slam debutant. “Novak has found his game and aggressiveness again, looks more relaxed and stronger,” praised Becker, who coached the exceptional player from 2013 to 2016.

The result: Djokovic moved ahead to 4-0. The preliminary decision in the Rod Laver Arena? Not quite. Prizmic could not be shaken off, number 178 in the ATP rankings came within 3:4 with three games in a row.

It was more than impressive how the youngster held up against it. At 3:5, Prizmic fended off four (!) match points. Only when he served himself did Djokovic manage to make it through.

Djokovic is amazed: “I’m twice his age”

“I started very well for a 36-year-old. Oh God, when I think about it, I’m twice his age. Reality really kicks in. I’m trying to enjoy every moment on the court,” Djokovic joked , who will face the winner of the Australian duel between Alexei Popyrin and Marc Polmans in round two.

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World-class action: Prizmic scores against Djokovic

2024-01-14 13:03:00
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