In his first singles match of the year on Tuesday, Serbian Novak Djokovic defeated Frenchman Constant Lestienne 6-3, 6-2 to go to the second round of the Adelaide International 1.
"For the first match, I can't complain. I played very well. I thought the first six games were very competitive and I have never faced him before. He is a counterpuncher, he doesn't make too many mistakes. He has a tricky serve and hits his spots. But once I made that break at 3-2 in the first set I thought I stepped it up and played really good tennis for the rest of the match," said Djokovic.
Djokovic pushed through the gears while a large audience watched on, hitting his impenetrable groundstrokes with constant depth and accuracy to seize immediate control.
Djokovic defeated World No 65 Lestienne in his debut ATP head-to-head match in 75 minutes after winning 44 per cent (17/39) of the points on his opponent's first serve.
The top seed is playing in Adelaide for the first time on a tour since 2007 when he was 19 and won the championship. At the ATP 250 competition, Djokovic will take on Quentin Halys to complete his title defence.
"To see the packed house for my first match was definitely a very pleasant surprise, and lots of support, lots of love. That obviously motivated me and allowed me to express myself in the best possible way on the court with my game. I thought I played a very solid, competitive start. I think for six games, we were kind of close. He had also break point. I managed to play solid in important moments and got rewarded with the break, and after that I didn't look back. I played really well in the second set," said the Serbian as quoted by ATPTour.com.
Since 2021, Djokovic hasn't participated in an event on Australian soil. He will compete at the Australian Open in Melbourne later this month; he has won the tournament a record nine times.
Denis Shapovalov, the seventh seed, overcame Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to become the other seeded player in Djokovic's section of the draw.
After two hours and one minute, the Canadian won by converting four of his twelve break points. Next up for the lefty will be qualifier Roman Safiullin.
( With inputs from ANI )
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