Djokovic loses another set to Faria but will reach the third round of the Australian Open
Novak Djokovic wanted to reassure himself. After a diesel start to the tournament against Nishesh Basavareddy (4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2), the man with 24 Grand Slam titles faced Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria for a place in the third round of the Australian Open.
Impressive against Pavel Kotov in the previous round (6-1, 6-1, 7-5), the 125th-ranked player in the world at the start of this tournament pushed Djokovic to a 3-hour match.
In control in the first set, the Serb saw his opponent win the deciding game of the second set.
Despite this, Djokovic didn't necessarily waver in the next two sets, winning in four sets (6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2), just as he had done in the first round.
More consistent than his opponent (32 winners to 33 unforced errors, 13 aces and 2 double faults), Djokovic can still dream of an eleventh Melbourne crown.
However, the level of competition is set to rise in the third round.
Djokovic will face Tomas Machac, ranked 25th in the world. The Czech emerged victorious from a battle lasting almost 3h30 against Reilly Opelka (3-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4).
Opelka, who beat Djokovic in Brisbane at the start of the season, will not be facing the Serb for a place in the last 16.
Djokovic and Machac have met on two previous occasions (both 1-1). When they last met in Geneva last year, Machac won in three sets.
