Novak Djokovic aims for 22nd Grand Slam title after Rafael Nadal’s shocking exit

• Novak Djokovic begins his quest to match Rafael Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam victories.
• Serbian great defeats Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets.
• He will play French qualifier Enzo Couacaud, who is ranked 191st, in the second round.

The longtime nemesis and the current champion, Rafael Nadal, is no longer in the way of Novak Djokovic as he pursues a 10th Melbourne Park victory as he resumes his “dream” return to the Australian Open on Thursday.

The Serbian great defeated Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets to get his quest to match Rafael Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam victories underway.

In the night session on Rod Laver Arena, he will face French qualifier Enzo Couacaud, who is rated 191st, in the second round.

The 35-year-old Djokovic was greeted enthusiastically on Tuesday after missing the Grand Slam last year due to his beliefs over Covid vaccines.

“I could not ask for a better start of the tournament in terms of support, in terms of how I felt on the court and also playing,” he said.

Nadal had been Djokovic’s probable final opponent.

[embepost slug = “/australian-open-rafael-nadal-crashed-out-of-the-second-round/”]

However, the top seed was forced to leave Melbourne Park on a limp after being defeated in straight sets by American Mackenzie McDonald, who is ranked 65th in the world.

Second seed Casper Ruud of Norway is drawn to meet Djokovic in the semi-final and will face a test against American world number 39 Jenson Brooksby earlier in the day.

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, the second-ranked woman in the world, will play Marketa Vondrousova after Djokovic to close up day four.

Jabeur, who made it to two Grand Slam finals last year, will be hoping for an easier matchup against the 86th-ranked Czech after finding it difficult to assert her dominance in a three-set match against Tamara Zidansek in the opening round.

The Australian hope Thanasi Kokkinakis will play Andy Murray, who just defeated Matteo Berrettini in a five-set, nearly five-hour drama, on the neighbouring Margaret Court Arena.

“I’ve played him a while ago in Davis Cup. Yeah, he definitely handed it to me that day, but I’m ready now,” Kokkinakis said of the potential of playing the British player.

The unpredictable Melbourne weather will be hoped to calm down after two days of sweltering heat, torrential rain, and bitter cold severely disrupted the schedule.

On the outdoor courts on Wednesday, six hours of play were missed when rain fell and the temperature dropped to 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit).

A heat suspension occurred the day before when the temperature hit 37C.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the fifth seed in the women’s draw, will meet Shelby Rogers of the United States, who is ranked 51 in the world, in a clash of power hitters to start off the second round action on Thursday on centre court.

An intriguing matchup pits Leylah Fernandez of Canada, a past US Open runner-up, against France’s Caroline Garcia, the fourth seed.

Claire Liu of America competes against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, the reigning Olympic champion.

Also Read

Novak Djokovic easily defeated Roberto Carballes

Serb was disqualified from last year's tournament. The 35-year-old is aiming for...