Novak Djokovic suffered arguably the biggest defeat of his career when he crashed out of the Australian Open to an inspired 117th-ranked Uzbek Denis Istomin on Thursday, extending his slump in form.
The defending champion sent down 72 unforced errors as he lost 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-2, 6-7(5), 4-6 in the second round to end his bid for a record seventh title at Melbourne Park.
Later, Rafael Nadal powered past Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 and set up an enticing third-round showdown with rising German star Alexander Zverev.
In the women’s draw, Serena Williams defeated Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-4. But third seed Agnieszka Radwanska was a major casualty when she lost 3-6, 2-6 to Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
It is more than a decade since Djokovic made such an early exit from the Australian Open, and he hasn’t lost in the second round of any Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2008.
Djokovic had only been defeated once by a player outside the top 100 in the past seven years, when he went down to 145-ranked Juan Martin del Potro at the Rio Olympics. The stunning result blows the men’s competition wide open as the six-time champion was widely expected to reach the January 29 final, where he was seeded to meet five-time runner-up Andy Murray. It also raises fresh questions for the World No. 2, who has been in a funk since completing a career Grand Slam and winning his 12th major title at last year’s French Open.
“It’s one of these days when you don’t feel that great on the court, don’t have much rhythm, and the player you’re playing against is feeling the ball very well,” he shrugged. “That’s sport.”
While Djokovic was rocked by the defeat, there was joy for Istomin, who is coached by his mother and has never got beyond the third round in 11 visits to Melbourne Park.
“I feel sorry for Novak, I was playing so good today,” he said. “I surprised myself also.”
One beneficiary of Istomin’s win could be World No. 3 Milos Raonic, who was seeded to meet Djokovic in the semifinals.
Despite suffering from ‘influenza’, the Canadian strode into the third round with 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) demolition of Gilles Muller and will next play France’s Gilles Simon.
Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic made a miraculous recovery from his record-breaking, 84-game win over Horacio Zeballos two days earlier to beat Australian wildcard Andrew Whittington. Karlovic won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to set up an encounter with Belgium’s David Goffin.
Britain’s Johanna Konta kept up her hot run of form as she beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 to set up a meeting with Caroline Wozniacki. US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova ousted Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova to stay unbeaten this year.
Bad day for Indians
Meanwhile, it was a bad day for the Indians with Leander Paes and the rising team of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan making first round exits from the men’s doubles.
Paes and his Brazilian partner Andre Sa had a one-set advantage but lost 6-4, 6-7(3), 4-6 to 10th seeded pair of Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi.
In another first round match, Purav and Divij suffered a 6-7(9), 6-7(4) defeat against the French team of Jonathan Eysseric and Fabrice Martin. — Agencies
