Djokovic through after sluggish Australian Open start

Novak Djokovic praised Andy Murray for his mid-match advice after their coaching partnership got off to a winning start at the Australian Open.

After attracting plenty of attention during practice sessions at Melbourne Park, eyes were as much on Murray in the new courtside coaching pod on Rod Laver Arena as the 10-time champion on court against American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy.

If Djokovic is to have a chance of making it 11, he will certainly have to play better than he managed here, but he eventually wore down 19-year-old debutant Basavareddy in a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory.

Speaking in his on-court interview, Djokovic said of Murray: "I'm obviously thrilled to have him in my corner. I must say it was a little bit of a strange experience to have him courtside in my box.

"He gave me some great advice mid-match. He's been doing really well. It's been an enjoyable experience and hopefully we don't stop here."

Basavareddy was a little-known wild card but the American showed he can have a bright future in the sport, winning over the crowd with creative and intelligent play.

Djokovic, by contrast, looked out of sorts and lethargic, and a break of serve helped the teenager take the opening set.

Basavareddy's inexperience showed as he started to cramp before the set was out, and from that point there only appeared to be one outcome.

There was a roar from Djokovic, matched by his coach, when he levelled the match, and a bigger one when he withstood a bit of pressure to take the third set.

Basavareddy fought to the end but a final Djokovic ace clinched the win.

Djokovic, who next faces another unknown quantity in Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria, said: "In the end it was great. He was the better player for a set and a half, and he deserves every bit of applause that he got when he was exiting the court.

"I didn't know much about him. These kind of match-ups are always tricky, always dangerous You're playing someone who has nothing to lose. He very pleasantly surprised me."

Carlos Alcaraz was impressed with his level early in his bid to complete a career Grand Slam after an imperfect but entertaining 6-1 7-5 6-1 win over Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko.

Four-times major champion Alcaraz is targeting his maiden trophy at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to capture all four Grand Slam titles and the 21-year-old went all guns blazing for an emphatic victory after a nervy opening game.

A mid-match dip notwithstanding, the Spaniard pulled off extraordinary shots which prompted retired Australian player John Millman to ask him after the contest what the secret to being such a "freak" was.

"I always say that it's hard work," a beaming Alcaraz said.

"I try to bring the best of me every day. That's the secret. Every day I try to be a better person and better player."

Nick Kyrgios's long-awaited return to the Grand Slam stage proved something of a let-down as Briton Jacob Fearnley sent the ailing home hero out.

A capacity crowd packed out Kyrgios's favourite John Cain Arena for his first match at Melbourne Park in three years, hoping the tennis showman could shrug off an abdominal strain to battle through.

Most left deflated as Kyrgios went down swinging in a 7-6(3) 6-3 7-6(2) defeat, with the injury hampering his serve and movement.

Fearnley, however, was impressive on his debut at the year's first Grand Slam as he set up a second round match with Frenchman Arthur Cazaux.

"Obviously extremely nervous before the match, I didn't get much sleep," Fearnley said on court.

"Sorry for Nick, I could tell he was dealing with some stuff. But I thought it was a great match and I really enjoyed playing with you guys.

"All things considered, it's probably the best match (I've played)."

Young American Alex Michelsen caused the first big upset by knocking out former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has now lost three grand slam matches in a row after a second-round exit at Wimbledon and first-round defeat at the US Open

Tsitsipas was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the final two years ago and is also a three-time semi-finalist, but he has struggled since reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open last spring.

He has now lost three grand slam matches in a row after a second-round exit at Wimbledon and first-round defeat at the US Open.

The Greek 11th seed threatened a comeback by winning the third set against Michelsen, but the talented 20-year-old, who reached the third round on his debut last year, held his nerve to claim a 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 victory.

"It was a difficult first-round match," said Tsitsipas. "I knew I was dealing with a pretty serious opponent because I've played him before and I have lost.

"So I knew I had to be on top of my game to try and win this match. I had a very slow start to the match.

"In terms of finding my movements and just dominating from the serve plus one, it wasn't really the way I'm expecting it to work. That led to some frustration and, let's say, insecurity in terms of approaching my game."

Tsitsipas admitted he does not know how he will get out of his current funk, saying: "The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a grand slam is that you have way too much time to recover, and I would rather have the other way around where I don't have enough time to recover.

"Honestly, that's much, much better in terms of problem solving. It just sucks in a way that I'll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in. With my competitive nature, I feel like these type of things are not really ideal for me."

Elsewhere, defending champion Jannik Sinner extended his winning run at the Australian Open and has not lost a grand slam match on hard courts since the 2023 US Open, while his 7-6 (2) 7-6 (5) 6-1 victory over Chile’s Nicolas Jarry made it 15 consecutive victories in all tournaments dating back to a defeat by Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing in early October.

Sinner certainly did not have things all his own way and it took him three sets to break the serve of an opponent who had a bit of extra motivation.

While Sinner waits for the conclusion of his doping case, with a hearing now set at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April, Jarry was among those left feeling that the Italian had been given preferential treatment.

Sinner was able to play on following two positive tests last March, but Jarry missed virtually the whole of the 2020 season after his own doping violation, for which it was deemed he bore no significant fault or negligence.

Speaking to Chilean newspaper La Tercera, Jarry said: "I would have liked the same support he got when it happened to me. That’s something that affects me personally."

Tennis authorities have insisted Sinner’s case was dealt with by the book, and he said: "I’m very honest with you. I don’t know the details of his case.

"What I can say also passing these kind of things, we got treated in the same way. There’s the protocol. If the protocol has some issues or problem, then it’s not my fault.

"Of course, I’m very sorry for the players who are passing these kind of things. I know only what happened to me. I knew what I have to pass. It’s basically still on, mine. I have to do some stuff."

Additional reporting: PA

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