melbourne: Novak Djokovic’s first match with former rival Andy Murray as his coach did not start all that well, even against a 19-year-old making his Grand Slam debut.
Still, after dropping his opening set at the 2025 Australian Open on Monday night to Nishesh Basavareddy, an American who left Stanford University and turned pro last month, Djokovic eventually asserted himself for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory to begin his bid for an 11th championship at Melbourne Park and a record 25th major title overall.
“I’m obviously thrilled to have him in my corner,” Djokovic said about Murray.
“I must say, it was a little bit of a strange experience to have him at courtside in my box. We played for over 20 years against each other at the highest level. Great to have him on the same side of the net. He gave me some great advice mid-match.”
Before heading out into Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic and Murray chatted in the gym. They wrapped up the conversation with a fist bump, before Djokovic hopped on the treadmill to warm up.
Sinner starts well
After wasting a set point in the second tiebreaker with an ill-conceived drop shot, Jannik Sinner quickly reverted to what’s been working for him and finished off a straight-set win over Nicolas Jarry to begin his Australian Open title defence. The 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1 victory on Rod Laver Arena extended Sinner’s winning streaks to 15 on both the tour and on hardcourts in the Grand Slams.
After all the pre-tournament attention on the 2024 doping cases of Sinner and long-time women’s No. 1 Iga Swiatek, both started the year’s first Grand Slam tournament about the same time on nearby courts on Day 2.
“Yeah, I was curious to see how it was,” Sinner said of the reception at Rod Laver, where he became a fan favorite last year. Top-ranked Sinner had to grind for two long, tiebreak sets against No. 35-ranked Jarry, a 29-year-old from Chile, before finding his touch.
While Sinner was deep into his match against Jarry, Swiatek, a five-time Major winner from Poland, fended off top-ranked doubles player Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-4 on John Cain Arena. Coco Gauff had a little difficulty adjusting to the sun at one end of Rod Laver Arena in Monday’s first marquee match and dropped an early service game before quickly settling into a rhythm in a 6-3 6-3 win over 2020 champion Sofia Kenin. Gauff is wearing a Marvel-inspired bodysuit and skirt at Melbourne Park and she’s radiating confidence and calm.
Alex Michelsen produced the biggest win so far of his fledgling career to upset 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 in the first round.