Novak Djokovic needed to summon his perfect in opposition to the decided French qualifier Enzo Couacaud however finally triumphed 6-1 6-7(5) 6-2 6-0 on Thursday to proceed his pursuit of a historic tenth Australian Open championship and memorable twenty second Grand Slam title.
The Serbian, trying imperious, eased by the opening set, nonetheless, he hit a roadblock within the 74-minute second set when world No. 191 Couacaud elevated his tempo and depth, culminating in an intense tiebreak that leveled the competition.
Fourth seed Djokovic modified his shirt and introduced within the heavy artillery to whip by the ultimate two units on Rod Laver Arena and arrange a third-round date with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
“Enzo deserves credit for the fight, he played some great tennis, especially in the second set, he deservedly pushed the match into the fourth set,” stated Djokovic, who hit 63 winners over the competition on Rod Laver Arena.
“I managed to respond well in the third and especially in the fourth … and yes, let’s keep it going.”
Dimitrov has gained solely one among his 10 matches in opposition to Djokovic and, because the Serbian was fast to level out, has by no means met him at Melbourne Park, the place the previous world No. 1 is unbeaten since 2018.
“I know him very well, we are friends, Balkan brothers. May the best player win,” stated Djokovic.
Djokovic’s half of the draw opened for him earlier on Thursday when second seed Casper Ruud was knocked out. That adopted Wednesday’s exit of high seed Rafa Nadal, who already holds 22 Grand Slam singles titles.
It might prove that Djokovic’s left thigh, once more closely strapped in opposition to a hamstring niggle, would be the largest impediment to him touchdown one more Australian Open title.
The 35-year-old took a medical timeout at 4-4 within the second set to have the strapping modified and fiddled with it at changeovers however in any other case appeared largely unhindered by the harm.
Couacaud additionally wanted remedy when he turned his ankle nastily within the first set as he tried in useless to carry off a break of serve that gave his opponent a 3-1 lead.
The Mauritius-born 27-year-old continued to throw every thing at Djokovic and performed a superb second set, lastly getting back from 3-0 right down to take the tiebreak 7-5.
Djokovic was once more warmly supported by the gang, the acrimony of his deportation from Australia final yr over his stance on vaccinations in opposition to COVID-19 apparently forgotten.
One fan attracted his ire within the fourth set, nonetheless, after repeatedly making noise whereas Djokovic was making ready to serve.
“He’s drunk out of his mind, he’s provoking, he’s not here to watch tennis, what are you going to do about it?” he requested the umpire.
Four males in fancy gown have been subsequently escorted from the sector and Djokovic was quickly crunching a howitzer of a crosscourt backhand winner to convey an finish to the competition.
