DJOKOVIC SUFFERS HUGE SHOCK
NOVAK Djokovic suffered arguably the biggest defeat of his career when he crashed out of the Australian Open to 117th-ranked Uzbek Denis Istomin yesterday, extending his mystifying slump in form.
With Istomin inspired, the defending champion sent down 72 unforced errors as he lost 7-6 (10/8) 5-7 2-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 in the second round to end his bid for a record seventh title at Melbourne Park.
Later, Rafael Nadal beat Marcos Baghdatis.
In the women’s draw, Serena Williams ousted Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-4.
But third seed Agnieszka Radwanska was a major casualty when she lost 6-3 6-2 to Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
It is more than a decade since Djokovic made such an early exit from the Australian Open, and he has not lost in the second round of any grand slam since Wimbledon in 2008.
Djokovic had only been defeated by a player outside the top 100 once in the past seven years, when he went down to 145th-ranked Juan Martin del Potro at the Rio Olympics.
The stunning result blows the men’s competition wide open as the six-times champion was widely expected to reach the January 29 final, where he was seeded to meet five-times runner-up Andy Murray.
It also raises fresh questions for the world No 2, who has been in a funk since completing a career grand slam and winning his 12th major title at last year’s French Open.
While Djokovic was rocked by the defeat, there was joy for Istomin, who is coached by his mother and has never got beyond the third round in 11 visits to Melbourne Park. “I surprised myself also,” he said.
One beneficiary of Istomin’s win could be world No 3 Milos Raonic, who was seeded to meet Djokovic in the semifinals.