2024-01-14 12:19:02
Novak Djokovic
ISSEI KATO / REUTERS
The 18-year-old Croatian, from qualifying, who was playing his first Grand Slam tournament in a major draw, took a set from the master of the place, who won in pain in 4 hours of play.
Manhandled, pushed to his limits in the second and third rounds, Novak Djokovic still respected his rank for his entry into the running against the unknown Dino Prizmic. A snatched victory (6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3). But this expected qualification took a long time to take shape.
Yet everything started perfectly. After winning the first set in 42 minutes for the Serb (6-2), the question was almost whether Prizmic, visibly suffering from stress cramps from the fifth game, would finish his match. The neophyte gradually relaxed and got his bearings against the world number 1 whom he mishandled, even worried. Thanks to a sublime winning forehand passing in the second set, the Croatian stole the opponent’s serve in the fourth game. And if the man with 24 Grand Slam titles recovered in stride, he gave in in the decisive game lost 5-7, an exercise in which he is almost untouchable.
Very solid, varying a lot, without complexes, the amazing Prizmic restarted the match against a slightly borrowed Djokovic. In a completely crazy third set, breaks and unbreaks followed one another. “Djoko” led 2-0, before conceding three games in a row. After this new alert, the world number one took over and calmed the enthusiasm of his young opponent who gradually died down. After saving two break points, the winner of 10 titles in Melbourne thus played… eight consecutive games, straddling the second and third sets. Djokovic snatching the suffocating third act in 1 hour 11 (6-3).
In the tough physically, the qualifier was caught up by his inexperience and cracked a little in the fourth act, but he did not give up, breaking in the sixth game and in turn stringing together three games right now. Not enough to once again shake the boss of the Rod Laver Arena who, after missing four match points in the ninth game, logically had the last word (6-4) against an admirable Prizmic. The tournament favorite has upheld his rank, but we obviously expect better from the immense 36-year-old champion, who will face an Australian in the 2nd round. Either Popyrin or Polmans.
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