CNN —It looked on paper to be an easy start to Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open campaign, but the 24-time grand slam champion was given a scare by Croatian youngster Dino Prizmic in a thrilling first round encounter on Sunday.
The 18-year-old impressed during his debut in a grand slam main draw.
However, the effort it took to temporarily take the lead against the Serb looked to take its toll as Prizmic’s level began to drop as the match wore on.
Djokovic, who had picked up a minor injury ahead of this year’s Australian Open, began to click into gear and recovered to win the third set.
“He deserves every applause, every credit he got tonight,” Djokovic added.
Persons:
Novak, Dino Prizmic, I’m, ” Djokovic, ” Prizmic, Rod Laver, Frank Molter, Djokovic, Prizmic, Andy Wong, “, Alexei Popyrin, Marc Polmans
Organizations:
CNN, Melbourne, Djokovic, Croatian, Prizmic
Locations:
Croatian