MELBOURNE – Novak Djokovic successfully negotiated the first hurdle in his quest to rewrite the Australian Open record books with an opening round 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 victory over France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu yesterday.
Report by Supersport
The 25-year-old Serb is attempting to win his third successive Australian Open title and fourth overall. No man in the professional era has won three successive Australian titles.
Djokovic was rarely pushed by Mathieu, a former top-20 player whose ranking dropped after knee surgery ruled him out for the entire 2011 season, aside from the second game of the second set when he had to save three break points.
The world number one will now meet Ryan Harrison of the United States in the second round after the American had earlier overcome Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
Japanese No 1 Kei Nishikori eased doubts over a knee injury as he beat Romania’s Victor Hanescu in four sets in round one of the Australian Open.
A left knee injury forced the 16th seed out of this month’s Brisbane International and Kooyong Classic tournaments, but he showed little discomfort in surging home 6-7, (5/7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win over the 63rd-ranked Hanescu.
Nishikori (23) Asia’s big hope in the men’s draw, recovered from dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker to take the match in 2hrs 39mins. Nishikori, who reached the quarter-finals at last year’s Australian Open, the best-ever Grand Slam performance by a Japanese man, trumped Hanescu with his court speed and blazing groundstrokes.
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The Japanese star charged through the second set with two breaks and broke Hanescu’s opening service game on the way to wrapping up the third set.
He broke serve twice more in the fourth set to take his place in the second round of the year-opening Grand Slam.
Nishikori became the Japan Open’s first home-grown winner last year and was the first Asian to finish in the year-end top 20 since Thai Paradorn Srichaphan in 2003.
