Marathon loss ends Djokovic’s bid for history
MELBOURNE, Australia — Six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic was upset in a shocking second-round loss to Uzbekistan wild card Denis Istomin.
The second-seeded Djokovic was aiming to be the first man to win the Australian title seven times, and had won all his previous six head-tohead meetings against Istomin.
It was destined to be a long Thursday on Rod Laver Arena for Djokovic, though, when he needed 24 serves and a quarter of an hour to hold in the first game, saving six break points.
After 4 hours and 48 minutes, he sent a service return long to give No. 117-ranked Istomin a 7-6 (8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 64 win.
“All the credit to Denis for playing amazing. He deserves to win,” Djokovic said.
“He was the better player in the clutch moments — he stepped it up and played aggressive.
“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.”
Istomin, who dropped out of the top 100 last year, had never beaten a top 10 player at a Grand Slam tournament.
“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.”
His only previous win in 33 matches against a top 10 player was in 2012 at Indian Wells, when he beat No. 5 David Ferrer.
Djokovic had won five of the previous six Australian Open championships, and had reached the fourth round or better every year since 2007 — the year before he won his first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park.
“I’m not used to losing Australian Open second round — I’ve done so well here.”
The last time he’d failed to advance beyond the second round at a major was at Wimbledon in 2008.
Istomin next plays No. 30 Pablo Carreno Busta.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams, who is also ranked No. 2 and is a six-time Australian Open champion, kept her chase for an Openera record 23rd major title on track with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova in a night session delayed by Djokovic’s defeat.
No. 3-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska didn’t last much longer than Djokovic, losing her second-round match, 6-3, 6-2, to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Radwanska reached the semifinals here last year; LucicBaroni hadn’t won an Australian Open match since 1998 until her first-round win this week.
Defending champion Angelique Kerber won the first eight games and went on to beat Kristyna Pliskova, 6-0, 64, to advance to the fourth round. Kerber, who beat Pliskova’s twin sister, Karolina, in the U.S. Open final last year, next plays American CoCo Vandeweghe, who beat former semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard.
Eighth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova also moved onto the fourth round, defeating Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 5-7, 97.