Novak Djokovic, a year after the soap opera of his expulsion, resumed the course of his history with the Australian Open with a quiet success against the Spaniard Carballes Baena.
Expected, Novak Djokovic (seeded n ° 4), bandaged left thigh has perfectly succeeded in entering the Australian Open. For his big return to Melbourne, the Serb who is aiming for a 10e title dominated Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena (75e world) 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 (in 2h2) on the “short the most important of (his) life».
A solid match (4 aces; 78% of points scored on his 1is service ; 15 winning strokes) who had to reassure the Serb on his physical ability to dive into the competition to pocket a 22nd consecutive victory in Melbourne (his last setback dates from an 8th final lost against South Korean Hyeon Chung in 2018), the 35th in a row in Australia. “I’m very happy with the way I played, especially in the 3rd set, I didn’t let him breathe. In the 2nd, there were ups and downs…“, he summarized on the court.
Au 2e round, he will be opposed to the Frenchman Enzo Couacaud (190efrom qualifying) or the Bolivian Hugo Dellien (132e).