Novak Djokovic claimed he was “blessed” and “thrilled” after surpassing Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam singles matches. On Rod Laver Arena, the 37-year-old defeated the strong Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-2. To go to a match against Czech 26th seed Tomas Machac. Djokovic won his 430th Slam match to surpass Federer (429) and Serena Williams (423).
He now holds the record for the most men’s and women’s singles matches played during the Open era. American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy ranked 107, gave Djokovic a scare in the opening round and forced him to four sets. The Serb later stated that his retaliatory performance. It was encouraging for his pursuit of an 11th Australian Open championship and a record 25th Grand Slam victory.
He was more like his former self to start against 125th-ranked Faria. Hardly giving the 21-year-old a chance, while being watched once more by new coach Andy Murray. When a backhand sailed long, Djokovic pounced to break Faria for 3-1 after opening his account with a service hold to love. He was in full swing, and after another 5-1 break, he was headed to the first set in just 30 minutes.
Novak Djokovic; the Unstoppable Force
When the big-serving Faria defeated Pavel Kotov in the opening round, it was his first Tour-level victory, and the young, inexperienced player seemed to be out of his element. As Djokovic’s anger boiled to the surface. He miraculously recovered in the second set, breaking twice to win 4-2. Faria lost his composure when serving at 5-3 and was broken to love. But Djokovic recovered with a gold-plated crosscourt winner.
This time, Faria made no mistakes and won the set with a superb drop shot, pumping his fists in celebration as the match went to a tiebreak. However, experienced campaigner Djokovic reset, and when Faria started to lose focus. He flicked a switch to seize control of the third set because the stadium roof was now closed owing to rain. Djokovic’s poise and expertise were evident as he easily won the fourth set.
