Mother of all wins for glasses-wearing Istomin
allen Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic admitted opponents now believe he is more vulnerable following his stunning second-round exit from the Australian Open.
The six-time winner and 12-time Grand Slam champion crashed out to unheralded Denis Istomin in five sets yesterday in the world No. 2’s earliest exit from a major since Wimbledon 2008. The last time Istomin met Djokovic was in Dubai in 2014 where the Serbian star beat the Uzbek 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 32.
Djokovic’s stuttering start to the new season comes after he lost the world number one ranking he had held for 122 weeks from 2014 to Britain’s Andy Murray in November. He also relinquished his Wimbledon and US Open titles and was eliminated in the first round of the Rio Olympics by eventual champion Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.
The 7-6 (10/8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 loss to the 117thranked Istomin will only raise more questions about Djokovic’s ability to stay at the top after dominating tennis for the last six years.
Asked if opponents have started to believe more over the last six months that he was beatable, Djokovic said: “Sure. They wouldn’t be playing against me or any other opponent or any other tournament, for that matter, if they don’t believe that they can win.
“They go out and they try their best. Today Denis, surely he was an underdog, but he didn’t show any nerves in the big moments.
“Everything came together. It was the right moment for him, the right day. He was better.”
Melbourne record
Djokovic’s stunning defeat ends a phenomenal run of success in Melbourne where he won six Australian Open titles in six finals.
“I’m not Australian round,” he used to Open said. “I’ve losing in second always played so well. Throughout the last 10 years, I’ve won six titles here.
“This court has been so nice to me. I enjoyed it very much. Of course, it’s disappointing. But the end of the day I have to accept it.”
Djokovic denied there was any hangover lingering from his breakthrough French Open victory at Roland Garros last June, and the underwhelming second half of last season which ensued.
Positive start
“I don’t know. I didn’t reflect on that at all. I started a new season, a new year, as everybody else. I forgot about it, in a way. It’s not affecting me,” he said.
Djokovic added: “I started the season very well. Again, it’s a tennis match. On a given day, you can lose.
“I mean, nothing is impossible. There are over a hundred players playing in the main draw. I guess the quality of tennis keeps rising each year. Everybody becomes more professional. I guess they improve. They get better on the court.
“What can I do? I did try my best till the last shot, but it didn’t work.”
Denis Istomin is coached by his mother and wears glasses for eyesight problems. But after his sensational dethroning of Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, the unlikely hero could finally become a star, at least in his homeland of Uzbekistan.
The 117th-ranked Istomin caused one of the biggest Grand Slam upsets when he knocked out the six-time winner in the second round, 7-6 (10/8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in 4hr 48min.
Istomin, distinctive by his brightly coloured glasses, can expect to become an instant sensation after conquering the 12-time Grand Slam winner on his favourite court.
“It means so much for me to beat world No. 2,” said the 30-year-old journeyman, who only got into the tournament main draw as the winner of the Asia wildcard play-off.
“I just hope that it is not only one victory of mine. I’m trying to keep going the same way and trying to win some more.”
Istomin spent three months in hospital and was out of tennis for two years after breaking his leg so badly in a 2001 car accident that doctors doubted he would ever play competitive tennis again.
But with the coaching of his mother Klaudiya Istomina, he has been back on the circuit since 2004 — although beating Djokovic is his career highlight by some distance.
Asked what he would say if someone had told him he was going to beat Djokovic, he replied: “I would say, ‘Are you crazy or what?’ Especially in five sets, for sure. “For me, it was impossible to think about that I can hold it five sets with Novak, physically and mentally. So I did well today.”
Istomin, who will play Spanish 30th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round, joked that he saves money by having his mother as his travelling coach.
“When your family is part of your team, it’s great. I was lucky that my mother is coaching me. The other good thing is that I don’t need to pay the coach extra, you know.”
And what did his mother say to him after the match? “She said, ‘Good job’,” he smiled.
Istomin said he has never been the most famous athlete in Uzbekistan, although now that might change. “Maybe now I will be.”