Djokovic just survives hard-charging Croat qualifier

Novak Djokovic hung on to fend off a flurry of attacking shots from a charged-up 18-year-old qualifier, with the world No. 1 escaping  with a narrow first-round 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 result to survive into the second round of the Australian Open on Sunday.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner who has lifted the trophy in Melbourne a record 10 times, flirted with disaster as Roland Garros junior winner Dino Prizmic, the reigning Roland Garros junior champion.

The youngster who is half of Djokvic’s age, saved seven match points before the Serb brought the struggle to a halt after four hours with a volley winner at the net.

The epice was the longest first-round match Djokovic has ever played.

The powerfully built Priznic  matched it with Djokovic, who lost the second set in a tiebreaker as the 178th-ranked qualifier  showed his breakout talent.

“he deserved every applause and credit he got, amazing players, he handled himself incredibly well,” Djokovic said,

“It could have been his match as well,he showed resilience and mademe run for my money tonight.”

Djokovic hinted that he was off his best form: “I struggled in many moments, partly due to his game plan; he had an answer for everything.

“Physically I’m still finding myself on court, but I have a couple of days before my next match.

The marathon which ended after 11 p.m. exploded the claim of tournament organisers that adding a controversial 15th day to the Grand Slam  was an effort to avoid post-midnight finishes.

As it happened, the event banked the proceeds of an extra 89,000 fans through the gate on Sunday while women’s defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was stepping onto court for her opening match with half an hour to go before midnight. 

Main photo:- Novak Djokovic by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd