Novak Djokovic survived his most difficult Australian Open opening round test since winning the first of his record ten men's singles titles at the tournament.
Djokovic, 36, defeated 178th-ranked Croat Dino Prizmic, 18, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, to begin his quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles championship.
"Obviously, I struggled in many, many different moments tonight, but it was credit to him due to his incredible gameplan," said Djokovic, who finished with 40 winners and 49 unforced mistakes. "He simply had an answer for everything. "He was extremely physical."
Djokovic won his 29th consecutive Australian Open match, but he lost a set in the first round for only the second time in the last 17 years. Prizmic pushed Djokovic further in the third set, breaking serve in a 17-minute game to lead 3-2, but Djokovic took the next eight games.
Prizmic had the opportunity to become the first man to defeat Djokovic in two sets in a major since Viktor Troicki at the 2010 U.S. Open, and the first to do so at the Australian Open since American Paul Goldstein in 2006. Djokovic was 18 at the time, which is half a lifetime ago.
According to Tennis Abstract, Djokovic's longest Grand Slam opening round match to date lasted four hours and one minute. Djokovic had won his last 48 Grand Slam first-round matches in under three hours.
Prizmic, the 2023 French Open junior winner, was making his first Grand Slam main tournament appearance. He deserved every applause, every credit that he got tonight," Djokovic said in a statement. "He's a terrific player, and he's quite mature for his age... This is his moment, to be honest. It could have easily been his match, too."
Djokovic next faces an Australian, either 43rd-ranked Alexei Popyrin or No. 156 Marc Polmans. He might face five-time Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray in the third round and American Ben Shelton in the fourth round.
Last September, Djokovic swept Shelton in the semifinals of the US Open, tying Australian Margaret Court for the most major singles titles in history. On Sunday, Taylor Fritz, the highest-seeded American guy at No. 12, needed five sets and ankle therapy to advance to the second round.
Another American, Amanda Anisimova, defeated No. 13 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia in her first Slam match since taking a mental health vacation in May and returned to competition this month. Anisimova, 17, reached the semifinals of the 2019 French Open.
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the 2018 Australian Open champion, won her first match in Melbourne after retiring after three and a half years last summer. Wozniacki, 33, was leading 6-2, 2-0 against No. 20 Magda Linette of Poland when Linette, a 2023 Australian Open semifinalist, retired due to an injury.
The Australian Open continues on Monday (Sunday night in the United States), with US Open champions Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka in action. Osaka, a four-time major winner, is competing in her first Grand Slam event since giving birth.