Novak Djokovic and coach Andy Murray came through another Australian Open test, this time against Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria under the roof of Rod Laver Arena.
On Monday, inspired American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy gave the 10-time champion the runaround for the opening hour of their first-round clash, and 21-year-old Faria presented another set of problems for Djokovic to solve.
But the 37-year-old took another step towards a 25th Grand Slam title by eventually coming through against the world No 125 6-1 6-7 (7-4) 6-3 6-2.
The gap in experience looked like a chasm in a one-sided opening set but Faria stormed back into the contest by winning the second set in a tie-breaker on the back of some fine ball-striking and all-court athleticism.
Djokovic, with one-time adversary Murray again in his coaching box, broke for 4-2 in the third set, however, and fully quashed the threat offered by his spirited opponent in the fourth to set up a meeting with Czech Tomas Machac.
“I love this court, I love competition,” the Serb said after reaching the third round of the Australian Open for the 17th time with his 14th ace of the match.
“I think I responded well in the third set and particularly the fourth. He was playing lights-out tennis at the end of the second set and start of the third and I had to weather the storm.
“I told him at the net, ‘the future is bright for you so carry on’.”
Alcaraz aiming for ‘serve bot’ status in Melbourne
Carlos Alcaraz clubbed 14 aces in a whirlwind victory
Third seed Carlos Alcaraz brushed aside Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 6-1 6-4 in 81 minutes to march into the third round.
Alcaraz got off to a blistering start and never looked back, winning the first nine games before Nishioka could even get on the board.
“I’m really happy with the serve today,” said Alcaraz, who wrote “Am I a serve bot?” on the camera lens.
“This is something that I worked on in the pre-season. In the first round I struggled a little bit, so I wasn’t too happy with the serve.
“Yesterday I was more focused on practising the serve. I spent more time just serving with Juan Carlos [Ferrero], with my team, and it’s something that I really want to be better. So I’m just glad that today it worked pretty well. Hopefully in the next round it is going to be better.”
Alcaraz will next meet Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who upset 27th seed Jordan Thompson 6-3 6-2 6-4.
The Spaniard is bidding to become the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam this fortnight.
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