Novak Djokovic maintained his winning streak in singles matches in Australia, beating Constant Lestienne of France 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday in the first round of the Adelaide International.
It was the top-seeded Djokovic’s 30th straight singles
victory on Australian soil in a streak that goes back to 2018.
It was Djokovic’s first singles match of the season after
losing in doubles the previous day, and the win keeps him on course for a possible
semifinal matchup in Adelaide against seventh-ranked Daniil Medvedev, who
earlier beat Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 7-6 (6), 2-1 when Sonego was forced to
retire with a right arm injury.
Djokovic, whose last loss in Australia was in the fourth
round of the 2018 Australian Open, will face either Jordan Thompson of
Australia or Quentin Halys of France for a place in the quarterfinals.
He was again warmly received by the crowd in Adelaide, where
he won this tournament at the age of 19.
Djokovic is playing in Australia for the first time since
2021, having missed last year’s Australian Open when he was deported because
his unvaccinated status breached the country’s vaccination requirement for
in-bound travelers. His ranking has dropped to No. 5 after also being forced to
miss other tournaments, including the U.S. Open, last year.
“What you focus on, you become. If I focus on the negatives,
that’s what I’ll attract, so I don’t want to do that. I don’t hold a grudge,”
Djokovic said when asked about his return to Australia. “I am here to play
tennis, to enjoy sports and spread good energy. To see the packed house for my
first match was definitely a very pleasant surprise, and lots of support, lots
of love.”
Djokovic’s arrival in Australia was much smoother this time around
compared with last year.
“Well, I kind of was joking around with my team hoping that
I can enter Australia this time, and that’s what happened,” he said. “It was
really, I would say, normal. As with any other year coming into Australia
except the last year, easy through the passport control, landed well.”
Earlier, Medvedev saved nine set points before taking the
first set in a tiebreaker against the 45th-ranked Sonego.
“I didn’t know it was nine (set points),” Medvedev said.
“That’s actually crazy. Probably, maybe the first time in my life I’ve saved
nine set points.
“What a match to start the year,” he added.
Sonego was playing Medvedev for the first time and often
seemed to have the upper hand in the first set. He had six set points on
Medvedev’s serve at 5-4 but Medvedev was able to rely on his big serve when he
had to, saving all six.
Two games later, Sonego had three more set points at 0-40 on
Medvedev’s but Medvedev rallied again, eventually taking the set after 80
minutes.
“To be honest 0-40 was a tough moment,” he said. “I didn’t
count but I knew I saved a lot of set points.
Medvedev will meet Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic for a
quarterfinal place. -AP
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