Istomin Shocks Djokovic Down Under

January 19, 2017 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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The second round of the men’s singles draw at the Australian Open came to a close on Thursday with only one real upset. But it was a big one.

Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin upset defending champion and world number two Novak Djokovic 7-6(8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to hand the Serb his earliest loss at a Grand Slam since he lost to Marat Safin in the second round at Wimbledon in 2008.

“It is unreal,” said Istomin. “To beat Novak in five sets, it’s a great win. I’m still feeling a little bit tired. I didn’t expect to be doing what I’m doing now and what I did on the court. I like the way I am playing. I feel just tired.”

Istomin entered Thursday’s second round bout having won just one set in the five matches played between these two, but came out on Thursday with loads of confidence, and he needed it as the two battled for almost an hour and a half in the opening set. He came back from 1-4 down in the first set tiebreaker to steal the marathon first set.

But Djokovic seemed to regroup over the next two sets and looked to put a stranglehold on the contest. He broke four times and hit 28 winners during the second and third sets to win both of those frames and push himself closer to his 16th straight victory in Melbourne.

Istomin responded by winning the fourth set in a tiebreaker, and then broke for a 3-2 lead in the deciding fifth set. He didn’t face a single break point on his serve and won 86 percent of his first serves in that final set, showing no signs of nerves as he recorded the biggest win of his career.

Istomin, who is ranked 117th in the world, had to win the Asian wild card playoff back in December to earn a spot in Melbourne’s main draw and has certainly made it count, shocking the six-time champion Djokovic.

“I’m not used to losing in the Australian Open second round,” said Djokovic. “I’ve always played s well. I’ve won six titles here. This court has been so nice to me. I enjoyed it very much. Of course, it’s disappointing. But at the end of the day I have to accept it.”

In the third round, Istomin will take on 30th seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who upended Kyle Edmund 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday.

With Djokovic’s eliminated, his quarter of the draw is up for grabs, opening the door for players like Dominic Thiem or Grigor Dimitrov to reach the semifinals. Each of them won their respective second round matches, as the eighth-seeded Thiem got past Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-4, while the 15th seeded Dimitrov came back from a set down to beat Hyeon Chung 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Outside of the Djokovic upset, the men’s singles matches were all chalk on Thursday, as every seeded player that was in action came out victorious. Third-seed Milos Raonic dismissed Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4), while the ninth-seed Rafael Nadal won the day’s final match with a routine 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Marcos Baghdatis.

Young Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ernesto Escobedo saw their Melbourne runs come to an end. Escobedo won the first set against 21st seed David Ferrer, but the veteran Spaniard came back to advance with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win, while the 24th seed Alex Zverev ousted Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

David Goffin, Roberto Bautista-Agut, Richard Gasquet, Ivo Karlovic, Gilles Simon, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Benoit Paire were the other men to advance on day four in Melbourne. 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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