Australian Open: Djokovic pushed hard in tough Popyrin test en route to third round
The Serb beat Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in what was a testing encounter. He will face Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round
Virginie Bouyer / Panoramic
Novak Djokovic came through a truly testing encounter against home hope Alexei Popyrin, eventually beating the Australian 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to reach the third round in Melbourne.
With the victory, Djokovic keeps alive his hopes of a record-extending 11th Australian Open title, but the Serb was made to sweat on Rod Laver Arena by an exceptional performance from the young Aussie in front of his home fans.
The first set was straightforward enough for the world No 1, a single break enough to take the opener 6-3.
But Popyrin’s confidence grew as the match went on, and the world No 43 produced a level few have yet seen from him to create a captivating contest.
excellent popyrin pushes djokovic close in compelling contest
Popyrin moved a break up early in the second, earning himself a chance to serve for the set at 5-3 only for Djokovic to break back when it was most needed. However, the Australian hit straight back in the tenth game to break the Serb for a second time and seal the set.
The third stanza was a compelling spectacle, with Popyrin playing some superb tennis to keep a fatigued looking Djokovic under pressure throughout.
That pressure came to the boil in the tenth game of the set.
With Djokovic’s groundstrokes and first serve faltering, the Australian navigated his way to 0-40 on the Serb’s serve to earn himself three consecutive break and set points. Yet, as he has done tirelessly over the course of his extraordinary career, the 24-time Grand Slam champion saved all three before fending off a fourth for a monumental hold.
That proved to be pivotal in both the set and the match, as from there Djokovic held serve to find his way to a tiebreak, which he won 7-4 to nudge into a 2-1 lead.
Popyrin put up a brave resistance in the final set, but the writing had been on the wall since the loss of the third and Djokovic duly upped his game to earn the sole break of the fourth, before serving out his 30th consecutive win at Melbourne Park.
djokovic finds a way despite not feeling his best
“He had quite an easy forehand and he missed it. I didn’t do anything special – he was a better player for a set and a half,” Djokovic said in his on-court past-match interview.
“Things changed around and the momentum shifted in the tie-break. I put one more ball in the court than he did.
“I don’t think I played at the highest level. Credit to him for tactically coming out with the right game plan and serving big. He deserves a big round of applause for the performance tonight.”
Djokovic added that he had not been playing his best, and has been battling illness in recent days, but hopes to improve his level as the tournament progresses
“Still trying to find the form but as you said in the early rounds you play players with nothing to lose.
“They come out on court to try and play their best tennis and I think both my first and second round opponents were really great quality tennis players and I managed to find a way to win in four.
“Hopefully I will be able to build on this as the tournament progresses.”
The world No 1 and ten-time champion in Australia will play powerful Argentinian Etcheverry in the third round as his bid for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title continues.
Melbourne (Grand Slam), other second-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 58.910.000, most recent results first):
- Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Daniil Medvedev
- Holger Rune vs. Arthur Cazaux
- Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Hugo Grenier
- Grigor Dimitrov vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
- Jakub Mensik vs. Hubert Hurkacz
- Arthur Fils vs. Tallon Griekspoor
- Sumit Nagal vs. Juncheng Shang
- Lorenzo Sonego vs. Carlos Alcaraz
- Ugo Humbert vs. Zhizhen Zhang
- Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
- Nuno Borges vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
- Tommy Paul vs. Jack Draper
- Max Purcell vs. Casper Ruud
- Cameron Norrie vs. Giulio Zeppieri
- Alex Michelsen vs. Jiri Lehecka
- Alexander Zverev vs. Lukas Klein
- Andrey Rublev (5) beat Christopher Eubanks: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
- Sebastian Korda (29) beat Quentin Halys: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
- Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) beat Jordan Thompson: 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
- Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Gael Monfils: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
- Tomas Machac beat Frances Tiafoe (17): 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
- Adrian Mannarino (20) beat Jaume Munar: 6-3, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-3
- Ben Shelton (16) beat Christopher O’Connell: 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
- Fabian Marozsan beat Francisco Cerundolo (22): 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2
- Taylor Fritz (12) beat Hugo Gaston (LL): 6-0, 6-3, 6-1
- Karen Khachanov (15) beat Aleksandar Kovacevic (Q): 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
- Luca Van Assche beat Lorenzo Musetti (25): 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0
- Flavio Cobolli (Q) beat Pavel Kotov: 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
- Sebastian Baez (26) beat Daniel Elahi Galan: 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Alex De Minaur (10) beat Matteo Arnaldi: 6-3, 6-0, 6-3
- Jannik Sinner (4) beat Jesper De Jong (Q): 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
