Novak Djokovic, seeded seventh, beat Portugal’s Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 in his 430th Grand Slam singles match to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old 24-time Grand Slam singles winner praised his young opponent after the tough victory.
“In the wise words of Mr. Medvedev.. If the future generation plays this way.. they’re gonna have everything: money, girls, casino,” Djokovic said.
“He was playing lights out tennis towards the end of the second, start of the third. He served two first serves all match. Big guy, very young. I told you at the net that the future is bright and he should keep going.”
Also on Wednesday, men’s third seed Carlos Alcaraz continued his bid to complete a career Grand Slam with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 second-round victory over Yoshihito Nishioka.
Portuguese Nuno Borges also reached the third round after easily beating Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on a packed John Cain Arena.
Two-time women’s singles champion Naomi Osaka rallied from a set down to beat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the third round.
“I left everything I had on the court. It was so fun. Last year it was tough for me, but just to be back on these courts it makes my whole year. I’m glad I’m able to play another round,” Osaka said in her on-court interview.
Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka also advanced, claiming her 16th straight win in Melbourne after a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
In a big upset, Laura Siegemund beat last year’s finalist Qinwen Zheng 7-6, 6-3 in round two to clinch her 11th career Top-10 victory.
American Jessica Pegula, seeded seventh, eased past Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2 to also secure a spot in the third round.
