Novak Djokovic did not fully convince in his first two matches at the 2025 Australian Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion lost a set to both the young American Basavareddy and Portugal's Faria, showing that he is not yet in top form.
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The former world No.1 has to fix some details in his game if he wants to achieve yet another feat in his career, but he seems very calm and the presence of Andy Murray in his box reassures him for the rest of the tournament.
The 37-year-old from Belgrade is keen to lift his 11th trophy at Melbourne Park, which would allow him to reach 25 Grand Slam titles, definitively detaching Margaret Court in the all-time standing.
Nole is fully aware that he is not the top favorite in this edition and that he must gradually find the right rhyme after playing very few matches in recent months. However, Novak doesn't have much time to fuel up and will probably have a test in round three.
Nole's level needs to rise
His next opponent will be Tomas Machac, who is playing the best tennis of his career and who already defeated him on the red clay of Geneva last year. The Czech player is very dangerous on this surface, as he demonstrated at the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters where he reached the semifinals by defeating Carlitos Alcaraz.
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The best version of Djokovic will be needed to avoid the second consecutive elimination in the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. At the 2024 US Open, the Serbian had been defeated in the third round by Alexei Popyrin.
During the press conference after his victory over Faria, the current world number 7 reiterated how important it is for him to have Murray by his side: "He has an incredible dedication to this sport and is giving me a lot of help on a tactical level. He studies the opponents in a very in-depth way and it is great to talk to him during practices and matches. We are getting along very well together."