WORLD number one Novak Djokovic survived a scare on day one of the 2024 Australian Open, beginning his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam on shaky ground. The 11-time champion was pushed to four sets by 18-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic, who was making his Grand Slam debut.

In what felt like the birth of a future star, Prizmic won a tense second set tiebreak before breaking early in the third set, carrying the momentum of the match and overwhelming crowd support. The youngster’s efforts to get ahead only saw him wilt against the tireless Djokovic, who rallied to escape victorious.

“He deserved every applause, every credit that he got tonight,” Djokovic said post-match. “He’s an amazing player, I must say, so mature for his age. This is his moment, honestly. It could have easily been his match as well.

“He showed great mentality, resilience. He made me really run for my money, that’s for sure. Honestly, I have many, many praises for him. Many compliments.”

Djokovic also revealed illness had disrupted his preparation for the Australian Open, on top of the wrist injury which hampered him in a United Cup loss to Alex De Minaur. That, on top of the reality of father time’s ticking clock hit the Serb hard.

“I am a bit under the weather for the last four, five days,” he said. “You can probably judge by my voice. Look, it is what it is. You just have to try to deal with it and get over it and accept the circumstances and try to make the most of it.”

“When you think about it, I’m double his age… Reality hits hard tonight, but I’m really trying to enjoy every moment on court. I struggled in many different moments tonight but it’s credit to him.”

While Prizmic bows out after one of the more memorable losing Grand Slam debuts in recent times, Djokovic progresses to take on either Alexei Popyrin or Marc Polmans in the second round on Wednesday.

In other results, every seeded player advanced on day one of the Open. Though, it was far from straightforward for fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who was pushed to five sets by Thiago Seyboth Wild. After going two sets up, Rublev conceded the next two and was taken to a fifth set tiebreaker.

While Djokovic and Rublev played out four-hour matches, fellow contender Jannik Sinner had a much easier time of it against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. The Italian fourth seed progressed 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in just over two and a half hours.

As far as home grown talent went, Christian O’Connell was the only Aussie to find first round success on day one. He overcame Chilean Cristian Garin in a five-setter, 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. Meanwhile, Qualifier Dane Sweeny, and wildcards Jason Kubler and Adam Walton fell at the first hurdle.

RESULTS:
2024 Australian Open – Day 1

N. Djokovic [1] def. D. Prizmic (Q) 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
J. Munar def. A. Shevchenko 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
C. O’Connell [AUS] def. C. Garin 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
T. Fritz [12] def. F. Diaz Acosta 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
F. Marozsan def. M. Cilic 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
F. Cerundolo [22] def. D. Sweeny (Q) [AUS] 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
J. Sinner [4] def. B. van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5, 6-3
J. de Jong (Q) def. P. Cachin 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
D. Galan def. J. Kubler (WC) [AUS] 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6
S. Baez [26] def. J. Wolf 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 3-0 (RET)
F. Tiafoe [17] def. B. Coric 6-3, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3
T. Machac def. S. Mochizuki (LL) 7-5, 6-1, 7-5
M. Arnaldi def. A. Walton (WC) [AUS] 7-6, 6-2, 6-4
P. Kotov def. A. Rinderknech 7-5, 6-1, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3
Q. Halys def. L. Harris (Q) 4-6, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6
A. Rublev [5] def. T. Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6