Aus Open PIX: Djokovic survives Prizmic test; Sakkari through

Images from Day 1 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.

Djokovic survives tough opener

Novak Djokovic was dragged into a dogfight by talented teenager Dino Prizmic and had to dig deep to open his Australian Open title defence with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 victory in the first round on Sunday.

The Serbian, who played his first Australian Open a few months before the Croatian qualifier was born in August 2005, initially looked fully in control of the contest on the Rod Laver Arena court where he has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles.

Prizmic had already shown glimpses of the weapons he possesses and broke the top seed with a brilliant crosscourt winner early in the second set, forcing Djokovic to raise his game to break straight back.

The 18-year-old world number 178, who need a medical timeout to get some strapping on his thigh early in the match, was a man transformed, however, and kept up his level to even up the contest in the tiebreak with his third set point.

That merely set the tone for an enthralling third set in which 36-year-old Djokovic was put under intense pressure by his athletic opponent, making 20 unforced errors and facing six break points.

Djokovic broke Prizmic at the start but the teenager kept ripping huge forehands and stayed with the world number one in several rallies to put the match back on serve before breaking again for a 3-2 lead after a 15-minute battle of a game.

It had been six years and 28 matches since Djokovic last lost a match at the Australian Open and he was not going to put that record at risk easily.

He regrouped, changed his shirt and won the next four games to take the set, pumping his fist and letting out a huge roar in a tribute to the problems Prizmic had caused him.

More than three hours of playing with one of the best players of all time started to take its toll on Prizmic and Djokovic drove home his advantage to take his 90th win at the Australian Open in just over four hours.

The next challenge to Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title will come from one of two Australians, Alexei Popyrin or Marc Polmans.

Relief for Sakkari

After first-round exits at the last three Grand Slams, Maria Sakkari said she was relieved to win her opening match at the Australian Open on Sunday, the Greek eighth seed advancing with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Japan's Nao Hibino.

Sakkari has consistently been ranked in the top 10 in recent years but failed to shine at the majors. Reaching the third round at Melbourne Park was the highlight of her Grand Slam appearances last year.

However, the 28-year-old looked a player transformed on Sunday as she fired off 18 winners and completely dismantled Hibino's game to clinch the win in just over 70 minutes.

"(I'm feeling) super good because after losing three first rounds in the last three Grand Slams, that was very important for me. I was quite nervous before going into the match, but now I feel relieved," Sakkari told reporters.

"Overall, despite the nerves and the anxiety and the stress, I think that I was able to - especially in that second set - play a little bit of the tennis that I've been playing the last couple of months.

"I'm just feeling very good with my game because I really did some changes. I really worked hard. Believe it or not, I put more hours than usually. I had a very good pre-season. I think things will start clicking sometime soon."

Sakkari also detailed some of the changes she had made during her preparations for the 2024 campaign.

"I changed my racket. It's a completely new frame. After 10 years using the same racket, that was a big change for me," she added.

"I changed a little bit of my forehand, worked a lot on that because I felt like I had a very good forehand, but it could be a lot better. So now I'm feeling that it's my best shot, very powerful, and for sure the racket has helped."

Sakkari next faces Elina Avanesyan of Russia in the second round on Wednesday.

Hot Sinner a Sunday winner!

Fourth seed Jannik Sinner got off to a winning start in his bid to claim his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open as the Italian defeated unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4 7-5 6-3 in the opening round on Sunday.

Sinner, who enjoyed a strong finish to 2023 by reaching the ATP Finals title clash before guiding Italy to a Davis Cup triumph, was slightly off the pace after playing no competitive matches in the build-up to the year's first major.

A Melbourne Park quarter-finalist in 2022, Sinner grabbed a break in the opening game on Rod Laver Arena and battled to hold in the next before cranking up the pressure with searing winners on both flanks to take the first set.

World number 59 Van de Zandschulp went toe-to-toe with his opponent in the next set before Sinner sealed the decisive break for a 6-5 lead and comfortably doubled his advantage.

Sinner squandered four break points and then surrendered his serve to trail 2-0 as his forehand wobbled slightly in the third set but he responded superbly to close out the match and book a second-round meeting with Jesper de Jong or Pedro Cachin.

Rublev struggles past debutant Seyboth Wild

At 26, Andrey Rublev is probably a bit old to be considered a young gun and the redheaded Russian had a much tougher time getting into round two, pushed all the way by debutant Thiago Seyboth Wild in his 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6) win.

The often emotional Rublev was clearly furious at his inability to see off the Brazilian world number 78, who produced some sensational shots to frustrate the fifth seed and earn the support of the Margaret Court Arena crowd.

Seyboth Wild, who stunned Medvedev in the first round of last year's French Open, saved three match points at 6-5 down in the decider and raced to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak before Rublev rallied for the victory.

"I'm not going to forget this match," said the relieved Russian.

"I was thinking about Daniil's match at Roland Garros when I had my chances and couldn't take them. Thiago is a super dangerous player, he was serving really hard, first and second serves, and hitting the ball really clean."

Fernandez battles into second round

Leylah Fernandez still has a little stardust remaining from her fairytale run to the final of the 2021 US Open and the Canadian was another who made a hot start by breaking her opponent to love in the first game on John Cain Arena.

Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek fought her way back into the contest, however, and Fernandez, the women's 32nd seed, had to dig deep to run out a 7-6(5), 6-2 winner.

Krejcikova survives scare

Czech Barbora Krejcikova was the only former women's Grand Slam winner playing in the day session and the ninth seed was soon in trouble against Japanese wildcard Mai Hontama on Margaret Court Arena.

Hontama, playing her first main draw match at Melbourne Park, took the first set and former French Open champion Krejcikova needed plenty of sideline coaching and a medical timeout for a foot injury before progressing 2-6 6-4 6-3.

"It was a really difficult match, she was playing really well and it was tough but I always believed that I could get back into it," said Krejcikova, who emitted a huge roar after converting match point.