Djokovic, spurred on by Murray, muscles through at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic’s new era under the watchful eye of coach Andy Murray got up and running Monday at the Australian Open.

The record 10-time champion rallied past American wild card Nishesh Basavareddy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to secure his second-round spot in Melbourne for an 18th consecutive year. At times unconvincing, Djokovic regularly looked to an animated Murray in his coaching box for an extra burst of energy before sealing a two-hour, 58-minute win.

“It’s all business now for us, I’m thrilled to have him in my corner,” Djokovic said of Murray. “It was a little bit of a strange experience to have him courtside in my box... We played against each other for over 20 years, and it’s great to have him on the same side of the net.

“He gave me some great advice mid-match. It’s really good we have the opportunity to exchange some feedback and get our coaches to tell us what they see. It’s been a great experience [with Murray], hopefully we don’t stop here.”

Novak in Melbourne. A winning machine.

Our 10-time champion books his place into an 18th consecutive AO second round 🤯#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/L1kFt9glJn

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2025

Basavareddy appeared unfazed by the magnitude of the occasion inside Rod Laver Arena, where he moved freely to outlast the former World No. 1 in many of the longer exchanges. The physical demands of going toe to toe with Djokovic, however, began to take toll and the No. 107 PIF ATP Rankings called for a medical time-out after dropping the second set.

As the match wore on, Murray became increasingly involved and often lifted himself from his seat, inducing charged roars from Djokovic. In the third and fourth sets, the 37-year-old Serbian ultimately raised his serving level and clinically converted all three break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to advance at the first major of the year.

“He was the better player for a set and a half, he deserved every bit of applause that he got,” Djokovic said of Basavareddy, who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in December. “It was a great performance. These kinds of match-ups are always tricky [and] dangerous. He has nothing to lose in his first match at a Grand Slam.

“He pleasantly surprised me with all of his shots until the very end, so I wish him all the best for the future.”

The seventh-seeded Djokovic will next continue his quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title - and 100th overall - against qualifier Jaime Faria, who earlier breezed past Pavel Kotov 6-1, 6-1, 7-5.