Novak Djokovic is a well-liked man in Adelaide if his heat reception to centre court docket is any indication.
The 21-time grand slam champion was greeted with a raucous cheer from a close to full home at Memorial Drive for his opening singles match of the Adelaide International.
Djokovic’s first aggressive look Down Under since his 2021 Australian Open win got here on Monday, when he partnered Vaseline Pospisil within the doubles.
The pair had been consigned to a primary spherical exit however that didn’t cease followers piling onto shoe court docket 1 to sneak a peek of the world No. 5 in motion.
But the principle occasion is within the singles and Djokovic begins his Australian summer time right this moment, as he eyes a watch watering tenth Australian Open title.
BALL KID COPS NASTY BLOW
That’s gotta damage.
Tennis has the potential to throw up weird accidents, however nearly each man on the planet can sympathise with the ball boy on the Adelaide International on Monday night time.
The poor unsuspecting child copped a 208kmh serve from highly effective American Maxime Cressy straight to what gave the impression to be his groin space.
The ball was travelling so quick Aussie tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis didn’t get any racquet on the ace early within the second set and as a substitute the ball hit the younger boy.
The ballboy instantly winced in ache however after a quick well being verify from the linesman and a fist-bump with Kokkinakis, he powered on and stayed dedicated to his job.
Rusty Medvedev hoping shaky begin behind him
It was a rusty starting to Daniil Medvedev’s Aussie summer time with the back-to-back Australian Open runner-up pushed all the way in which by Italian Lorenzo Sonego within the opening spherical of the Adelaide International on Tuesday.
The Russian’s first aggressive minutes Down Under since his AO remaining capitulation to Rafael Nadal had been shaky to say the least, with the world No. 7 compelled to stave off 9 Sonego set factors within the opener earlier than the Italian retired trailing 2-1 within the second.
Serving to remain within the opening set at 5-4, Medvedev’s baseline recreation started to abandon him. The 2021 US Open champion misfired on a number of backhands and despatched a forehand crusing long gone the baseline, gifting Sonego a number of alternatives to steal the opening set.
But the Italian was susceptible to his personal unforced errors, notably on the web, and Medvedev’s serve finally pulled him from the hearth to take the opening set in a tiebreak.
The script flipped within the second set with each gamers breaking serve, and Medvedev led 2-1 when Sonego known as for a medical timeout to obtain therapy on his proper forearm.
The world No. 45 was unable to proceed by way of the fourth recreation of the set and was compelled to retire, bringing to an in depth an enthralling contest to open Tuesday’s proceedings.
Though not at his finest in his 2023 debut, Medvedev was happy along with his resilience within the opening set to stave off 9 set factors, together with a fightback from 0-40 within the twelfth recreation.
“I didn’t know it was nine that’s actually crazy – maybe the first time in my life I’ve saved nine set points,” he stated.
“What a match to start the year. Definitely unfortunate for everybody I think that it finished early in a way, even if we played one hour 40 (minutes) but happy to be through, happy to win the first set which we played to the end and of course I wish Lorenzo a speedy recovery.”
Medvedev’s win retains him on target for a blockbuster semi-final showdown with Novak Djokovic, in what can be a repeat of the 2021 Australian Open remaining.
The Russian will first face one other Serbian within the second spherical, within the type of Miomir Kecmanovic, who knocked Aussie Chris O’Connell out of the event on Monday.
Djokovic is subsequent on centre court docket in Adelaide, up in opposition to Frenchman Constant Lestienne.
Medvedev painted himself as an on the spot villain ultimately 12 months’s AO after labelling a jeering crowd ‘low IQ’ following his second-round win over Nick Kyrgios.
However, the Russian walked again the remark earlier this week, labelling it “stupid”, and the Adelaide crowd provided him a heat welcome again to Australia.
Originally revealed as Adelaide International: Follow the news and outcomes from Adelaide right here
