John McEnroe notices Andy Murray’s nervousness after Novak Djokovic’s frustration in inconsistent display against Jaime Faria at Australian Open
World No.7 Novak Djokovic dropped a set in his first two matches at the Australian Open for the second consecutive year.
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Novak Djokovic, John McEnroe, Andy Murray (Images via X, Marca)
John McEnroe thinks the young tennis players are frustrating Novak Djokovic during matches and his coach Andy Murray too gets nervous. McEnroe’s statement came after Djokovic fended off qualifier Jaime Faria on Wednesday (January 15) in the second round of the Australian Open.
The seventh seed restricted the Portuguese to just one game in the first set but the 21-year-old made an impressive comeback in the second set, pushing it into a tie-break and eventually winning it. The Serb then recovered quickly to clinch the next two sets to secure a place in the third round with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2.
McEnroe, who was watching Murray intently during the match, observed that the 6’2″ Faria’s level made the Scot nervous.
I watched Andy Murray during the Novak match and I noticed he was starting to get a little nervous because of what was going on. You only have to watch Djokovic’s first two matches to see that these young players play with a lot of freedom. They’re both outside the top 100 and they played incredible tennis.
John McEnroe told Eurosport
It was Djokovic’s second four-set match in the tournament. In the first round, he came from a set down to beat 19-year-old wild card entrant Nishesh Basavareddy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The Serb has now lost a set in his first two matches for the second consecutive year at Melbourne Park. In 2024, Djokovic dropped a set in his first two matches but reached the semifinal where eventual champion and current World No.1 Jannik Sinner defeated him in four sets.
Novak Djokovic breaks Roger Federer’s all-time record
After his second-round win, Novak Djokovic also broke Roger Federer‘s all-time record. Federer had played 429 Major singles matches but Djokovic, after beating Jaime Faria, registered his 430th singles match in Grand Slam events.
This sport has always been giving me so much in my life, an opportunity to play at the Grand Slams. I try not to take it for granted after great achievements that I’m very proud of. Of course, Grand Slam matches and Grand Slam wins are what counts the most in our sport. I’m very thrilled with that.
Novak Djokovic said at the press conference
Djokovic could play another tough match in the next round. He is set to lock horns with 26th seed Tomas Machac who beat Sumit Nagal in the first round and overcame Reilly Opelka in five sets in the second round. It was Opelka who denied the Serb a chance to win his first title at the Brisbane International over a week ago by beating him in the quarterfinals.
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Gouri Das
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