(Melbourne) Former world No.1 Novak Djokovic (current 4e) easily won Monday in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, where he is aiming for a 25e Grand Slam title which would be a record.

In the last match of the day on the Central, but the very first of the season for the Serbian, the ten-time winner of the tournament won 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 against the Spaniard Pedro Martinez (71e).

Djokovic will face the Italian Francesco Maestrelli (141) in the next round.e), from qualifying and fell on Monday in five rounds to Frenchman Terence Atmane (64e).

Entering the court to play his 21are At the Australian Open, the 38-year-old Serbian equaled the participation record in Melbourne of his former rival Roger Federer, retired since 2022.

Djokovic is present for the 81e time in his career in the final draw of a Grand Slam tournament, again equaling a record shared by Federer and the ex-12e world Feliciano Lopez.

He joins in the second round the world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and the finalist of the 2025 edition Alexander Zverev (3e), while waiting for the entry into the running of the double title holder Jannik Sinner (2e) scheduled for Tuesday against Frenchman Hugo Gaston (93e).

Medvedev advances

Russian Daniil Medvedev, 12e world and three-time finalist in Melbourne, also qualified for the second round by beating the Dutchman Jesper De Jong (73e) 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2).

“At times I could have been more clinical, so I hope I will be in the next few rounds,” he commented.

PHOTO TINGSHU WANG, REUTERS

Daniel Medvedev,

He played the 2021, 2022 and 2024 finals in Melbourne, but last year, as a prelude to a missed season, he lost in the second round against the American Learner Tien, then from the qualifiers, but seeded N.25 this year.

This time, the winner of the United States Open in 2021 and former world No.1 will face Frenchman Quentin Halys (83e) to try to advance to the third round.

“Last year was not my best season. But now, I’m playing better and better, so we’ll see,” commented Medvedev.

He is still undefeated this year after his title earlier this month in Brisbane where he reeled off five victories to earn his 22e title in so many different tournaments.

Local favorite Alex de Minaur, seeded sixth, beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the next round, as did Reilly Opelka and Andrey Rublev (13e).

Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka began his final career season in Grand Slam tournaments with a difficult 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory against Laslo Djere. The 2014 Australian Open champion announced last month that 2026 would be his final campaign on the ATP Tour.

“It’s my last year. It took too long to come back!, he said. The passion is still there. Today was great. I’m very happy to have won — I’ll be able to play at least one more match here. »

With Associated Press