TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic had no trouble winning the first round Australian Open 2023. He won in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 against Roberto Carballes Baena on Tuesday.

The match at Rod Laver Arena was Melbourne’s first Grand Slam match after being sent off last year.

“Thank you so much for the incredible reception which I could only dream of. I’m really happy to be able to come back here to Australia and be on the ground where I had the greatest success of my career,” said Djokovic, quoted by the official. tournament website.

Receiving an extraordinary reception from the home crowd, Djokovic performed brilliantly to beat world number 75 Carballes Baena in a match that lasted over two hours.

He had a problem with a hamstring injury, but was able to return to performance bracing his upper left leg.

That didn’t seem to limit his movement, however, and Djokovic brilliantly saved three break points in game five.

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This result extended this player’s winning streak at the Australian Open to 35 consecutive victories. This record has been set since 2018 and indicates that he will be difficult to stop.

In the second round, Djokovic will face the winner of the match between Bolivian tennis player Hugo Dellien and Frenchman Enzo Couacaud.

Summary of other results

After the games played earlier, Andy Murray secured a second-round entry, now it’s Alexander Zverev’s turn to register a positive result.

Germany’s Zverev, who injured his right ankle last June, beat Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Meanwhile, second seed Casper Ruud had to play four sets before claiming a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (7-5), 6-3 win over Tomas Machac. Thanks to this victory, Ruud will meet the American Jenson Brooksby in the second round.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev defeated 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. It was a blow for Thiem, who is still recovering from an injury.

Meanwhile, eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz also had to play four sets before beating Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

On the women’s side, Ons Jabeur, Karolina Pliskova, Belinda Bencic, Aryna Sabalenka and Carolina Garcia qualified for the second round.

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