Tennis: Djokovic ousted at Australian Open. 8B
Melbourne, Australia — It started badly for Novak Djokovic, who needed 24 serves, six breakpoint saves and 15 minutes just to hold his first game in the second round. This was not the close-to-invincible Djokovic that fans were used to seeing at the Australian Open, where he has won a record-equaling six titles, including five in the previous six years. In his earliest loss at a Grand Slam tournament since 2008, Djokovic lost, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, on Thursday to No. 117ranked Denis Istomin, a 30-year-old wild-card entry from Uzbekistan. “All the credit to Denis for playing amazing. He deserves to win,” Djokovic said of their four-hour, 48-minute match. “He was the better player in the clutch moments. “Obviously, I was not pleased with my performance overall, but I have to congratulate my opponent. Whenever he needed, he came up with a big serve, big play.” Djokovic hadn’t dropped a set to Istomin in six previous matches. But he lost the 85-minute first set in a tiebreaker and then seemed to get the momentum back, only for Istomin to finish stronger. Istomin’s only previous win in 33 matches against top-10 players was in 2012 versus then-No. 5 David Ferrer. “It is the biggest win for me. It means so much,” Istomin said. “Now I feel I can play with these guys, and to be with them on the same level.” Serena Williams, who like Djokovic was ranked No. 2 and is a six-time Australian Open champion, kept her chase for an Open-era record 23rd major title on track with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova. After winning a rematch of the 2015 French Open final against Safarova, Williams will play fellow American Nicole Gibbs in the third round.