MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic continued to build into the Australian Open with a 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 victory over Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria in the second round on Wednesday, taking another step towards a 25th Grand Slam title.
For the top players, the first week of a major is all about finding a groove in the full heat of competition and Djokovic could not have wished for more from his first two opponents, both making their Grand Slam debuts.
On Monday, inspired American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy gave the 10-times Melbourne Park champion the runaround for the first hour of their first-round clash, and 21-year-old Faria presented another set of problems for Djokovic to solve.
Faria’s victory in the opening round was his first at tour level, while Djokovic moved out of a tie with Roger Federer to claim another record merely by taking to the court for his 430th Grand Slam match.
The gap in experience looked like a chasm in a one-sided opening set but Faria stormed back into the contest by winning the second set in a tiebreaker on the back of some fine ball-striking and all-court athleticism.
Djokovic, with one-time adversary Andy Murray again in his coaching box, broke for 4-2 in the third set, however, and fully quashed the threat offered by the world No. 125 in the fourth to set up a meeting with Czech Tomas Machac.
‘I love this court, I love competition,’ the 37-year-old Serbian said after reaching the third round of the Australian Open for the 17th time with his 14th ace of the match.
‘I think I responded well in the third set and particularly the fourth. He was playing lights-out tennis at the end of the second set and start of the third and I had to weather the storm.
‘I told him at the net, ‘the future is bright for you so carry on.’ ‘
Carlos Alcaraz rolls
After clubbing 14 aces in a whirlwind victory at the Australian Open on Wednesday, Carlos Alcaraz made no secret of his aspirations for his retooled serve.
‘Am I a serve bot?’ Alcaraz scribbled on a camera lens at Margaret Court Arena where he thrashed Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the third round.
Serving has been on the four-times Grand Slam champion’s mind at Melbourne Park after tweaking his motion in the offseason.
He was not thrilled with its performance in his first round win against Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko where he landed less than 60% of his first serves and had six aces.
Wednesday’s figures were more encouraging for the meticulous Spaniard, who more than doubled the ace count and won 32 out of 36 points (89%) on his first serve.
It came after a long service training session with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero on Tuesday.
‘I felt more comfortable on it, yes. I think the serve’s about confidence and feelings,’ he told reporters.
‘Today I felt great. The throw of the ball was great today, which it helps a lot in the serve today.’
Though having won the French Open and a second Wimbledon crown last year with his previous serving action, Alcaraz was unhappy with its accuracy and overall strain on the body.
The new movement is a little more relaxed with a looser wrist to try to improve timing.
Alcaraz said he still has much to improve on if he wants to rival the top ‘serve bots’ like American Reilly Opelka and Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
As third seed with four Grand Slam titles under his belt, Alcaraz would seem a shoo-in for centre court scheduling at Melbourne Park but has played both his matches this year at Margaret Court Arena.
Players can submit their preferences to organisers but there are no guarantees they will be accommodated.
Alcaraz said he would rather play on Rod Laver Arena’s centre court, where women’s double defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and 10-times champion Novak Djokovic had the early slots on Wednesday.
But he was content to keep playing on the lesser courts if it meant an early night’s sleep.
‘Obviously I want to play on Rod Laver, but we have to see the schedule, as well. As I said many times, I don’t like to play night sessions.’