Ten-time Melbourne Park champion Novak Djokovic moved into the second round of Australian Open 2025 in four sets on Monday night, but his opening victory of the tournament wasn’t without its complications.

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Playing his first Grand Slam match with new coach Andy Murray alongside him, the Serb had to stay calm after dropping the first set to 19-year-old American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy.

Physical problems that hampered the teenage world No.107 from the beginning of the third set made things a lot more straightforward for Djokovic, who eventually came through 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 to set up a meeting with Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria. 

After nearly three hours on court, Djokovic was the first to recognise his opponent’s quality.

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“I think he was the better player for a set and a half,” admitted Djokovic, who is aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title during his stay in Melbourne. “He deserves every bit of applause that he got when he was leaving the court.

“To be really honest with you, I’d never seen him play until maybe three or four days ago so I didn’t know much about him. These kind of match-ups are always tricky, always dangerous, when you’re playing somebody who has nothing to lose.

“He’s a very complete player. He did very pleasantly surprise me with his shots, his fighting spirit towards the end, so I wish him all the very best for the rest of his career.”