WITH NEW coach Andy Murray watching on the sidelines, Novak Djokovic secured a first up win at the 2025 Australian Open after defeating a fast-starting Nishesh Basavareddy in four sets on Monday night.

Djokovic had a scare to start the match, dropping the opening set to the American wildcard, before steadying to book his spot in the second round of the Australian Open for the 18th consecutive year as he works towards an 11th championship in the tournament.

Although Basavereddy started the match bursting with energy and looked to stretch his star opponent, the physical demand of the match began to take its toll, and the underdog called for a medical timeout 90 minutes into the match.

That was a turning point in the match, with the Serbian champion starting to get his serving game on point, and converting all three of his break points. It was only a matter of time before Djokovic took over and cruised home to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

“I’m obviously thrilled to have him in my corner,” Djokovic said about Murray.

“I must say, it was a little bit of a strange experience to have him at courtside in my box. We played for over 20 years against each other at the highest level. Great to have him on the same side of the net. He gave me some great advice mid-match.”

Djokovic also gave praise to his opponent, who showed plenty of excitement in his hot start to a matchup against one of the best in the world.

“He was the better player for a set and a half, he deserved every bit of applause that he got,” Djokovic said of Basavareddy. “It was a great performance. These kinds of match-ups are always tricky [and] dangerous. He has nothing to lose in his first match at a Grand Slam.

“He pleasantly surprised me with all of his shots until the very end, so I wish him all the best for the future.”

Other notable results to take place on day two saw 11-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas upset by Alex Michelsen, which is great news for Alex de Minaur should he advance after tonight’s clash, as the Greek had caused him plenty of problems in the past. Speaking of Australians, Nick Kyrgios‘ return to the tournament was an unsuccessful one, beaten in three sets by Jacob Fearnley in what seems to be the former’s final match at the Australian Open.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN MEN’S RESULTS: JANUARY 13

[1] Jannik Sinner [ITA] def. Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1
[7] Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. [WC] Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2
[27] Jordan Thompson (AUS) def. [Q] Dominik Koepfer (GER) 7-6(3) 6-4 4-6 6-3
[3] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) def. Alexander Shevchenko (KAZ) 6-1 7-5 6-1
[11] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) def. by Alex Michelsen (USA) 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4
Jacob Fearnley (GBR) def. Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 7-6(3) 6-3 7-6(2)
Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) def. Roman Safiullin 3-6 6-3 6-3 7-6(5)
Chris O’Connell (AUS) def. by [12] Tommy Paul (USA) 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-7(5) 7-5
Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) def. by [17] Frances Tiafoe (USA) 7-6(2) 6-3 4-6 6-7(4) 6-3
[LL] Francesco Passaro (ITA) def. [10] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 7-5 2-1 ret.
James Duckworth (AUS) def. Dominic Stricker (SUI) 6-2 6-4 6-2
[15] Jack Draper (GBR) def. Mariano Navone (ARG) 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2
[23] Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) def. by Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) 1-6 6-2 6-3 7-6(1)
[28] Sebastian Baez (ARG) def. by Arthur Cazaux (FRA) 6-3 5-7 3-6 6-0 6-3
[WC] James McCabe (AUS) def. [Q] Martin Landaluce (ESP) 6-4 6-3 6-4
Juncheng Shang (CHN) def. by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) 7-6(1) 5-2
[WC] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) def. Taro Daniel (JPN) 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-1 6-4
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) def. by [29] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 6-3 6-0 4-6 6-1
Thiago Seyboth Wild (BRA) def. by Fabian Marozsan (HUN) 6-3 6-7(5) 7-5 5-7 7-5
[Q] Lukas Klein (SVK) def. by [22] Sebastian Korda (USA) 6-3 0-6 6-3 7-6(6)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) def. by Jakub Mensik (CZE) 6-1 6-7(3) 6-3 6-3
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) def. by Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 6-7(3) 6-0 3-6 6-3 6-4
Alexandre Muller (FRA) def. by Nuno Borges (POR) 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2 7-5
[Q] Jaime Faria (POR) def. Pavel Kotov 6-1 6-1 7-5
Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) def. [Q] Aziz Dougaz (TUN) 3-6 6-4 7-6(3) 6-3
David Goffin (BEL) def. by Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) 6-1 6-2 7-6(7)