Defending champion Novak Djokovic saw off a late revival by Italian qualifier Andrea Stoppini to reach the Australian Open second round today.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic saw off a late revival by Italian qualifier Andrea Stoppini to reach the Australian Open second round today.
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The World No 3 came from 1-4 down in the final set to win 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 54 minutes in baking conditions at the Rod Laver Arena.
The Serb, who won his maiden Grand Slam here last year, was relieved to get off to a winning start after an indifferent month, with two defeats already.
"I had a slow start in the first weeks of the year," he told the crowd.
"I didn't play my best tennis and I was a break down in the second and third set. So I'm still not on top of my game but hopefully I can get a good result here again."
Djokovic swapped sweat-drenched shirts with Stoppini after the match, a gesture usually reserved for football players.
"We like European football. I'm joking," Djokovic said, when asked about the unusual move. "We just came up with the idea, so why
Djokovic missed out on the chance to steal Roger Federer's World No 2 ranking when he lost to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in last week's Sydney International semi-finals.
The Serb was also beaten by Latvian Ernests Gulbis in his first match of the season at the Brisbane International.
Djokovic became Serbia's first Grand Slam champion with last year's win over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after beating Federer in the semi-finals.
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