It seems that Novak Djokovic will have only one opponent at the 2023 Australian Open and that is his left hamstring.
The Serbian, who previously defeated Roberto Carballes Baena and Enzo Couacaud, was set to take on his good friend Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. The Bulgarian was yet to lose a set in Melbourne, but he was also yet to win against Djokovic since their meeting in Madrid in 2013.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion had a perfect start into the match, getting a break in the first game. However, he couldn't finish it off before the tie-break, despite having three set points. Dimitrov, who had two set points himself, faced a 2-5 deficit in the tie-break, but managed to fight back and earned another set point at 7-6. Eventually, the Serbian won the last three points to take the first set in a tie-break.
After winning the first set, Djokovic collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, as the set was played for 79 minutes. On top of that, he also required a medical attention for the left hamstring that has been bothering him since the event started. Soon, he was ready to compete again and did well in the second set.
Djokovic was serving really well as he didn't allow his opponent to have any break points. Therefore, only one break was enough for him to increase his lead in the match and win the second set 6-3.
The third set was a rollercoaster full of breaks as there was at least one break point in each of the first six games, which featured five breaks of serve.
However, Djokovic was the player, who got the one decisive break, which was enough for him to control the remainder of the match and win it 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-4 after three hours and 7 minutes.
Up next, he will take on the home crowd favourite, the 22nd-seeded Alex de Minaur from Australia.
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