Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka Reach Round 2 Of Australian Open After Return From Injury [VIDEO]

Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka made brilliant comebacks from injury Tuesday to achieve first-round victories at the Australian Open.

Australian Open First-Round winners news

Djokovic, 30, routed American Donald Young 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in his first match in six months. The 14th-seeded Serb had not played since Wimbledon 2017 due to an elbow injury.

The Serb’s next opponent in Melbourne is Frenchman Gael Monfils, who is also returning from a long layoff.

Young saved five match points in the ninth game of the third set against Djokovic, although the latter secured his victory in the following game after one hour and 52 minutes of play.

Wawrinka — the ninth-seeded Swiss star who is one of Djokovic’s biggest rivals — also had not played since Wimbledon but still managed to defeat Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis on Tuesday.

“I still have some pain,” said 32-year-old Wawrinka, who underwent two operations to repair cartilage in his left knee last summer. “It depends on the way I’m moving, how I push on it. In general, it’s going the right direction. That’s the best news.”

Wawrinka will next face American Tennys Sandgren in Round 2.

Djokovic has won a record-tying six singles titles in Melbourne, most recently in 2016, when he was on route to winning four consecutive Grand Slam trophies.

“Well I did have various emotions, mostly good ones: excitement, joy, gratitude for being able to have an opportunity to compete,” Djokovic said on Tuesday. “But I did feel nerves, and I did feel a bit skeptical whether I’m going to be able to continue playing as well as I have the last couple weeks in the practice sessions. But I thought I controlled it well.”

The 12-time Grand Slam champion also denied claims that he had called for a boycott of next year’s Australian Open in pursuit of greater prize money. Djokovic said reports of his drastic attempts to raise the players’ share of tournament revenue were “exaggerated.”

The Serb also refuted he had taken a lawyer to the annual mandatory players’ meeting in Melbourne.

“You’ve taken things out of the context,” Djokovic said on Tuesday at a press conference packed with reporters. “I saw that you’ve portrayed me as someone who is very greedy, asks for more money and wants to boycott. But I respect your, you know, freedom and decisions to do that. But not much of what you have wrote is true.”

Nevertheless, other tennis players — like Djokovic’s fellow Serb Victor Troicki — have voiced interest in a union as a means of increasing players’ bargaining power and ability to enact change.

Djokovic said he has made unspecified modifications to his racket to help alleviate his injury. He has also abbreviated his service motion in an attempt to relive pressure on his right elbow. He still managed to serve at an impressive speed of 116 m.p.h. on Tuesday.

One funny moment in Melbourne on Tuesday also came when Roger Federer was interviewed by comedic actor Will Ferrell. Ferrell asked Federer — who defeated Slovenian Aljaž Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 — a series of ridiculous questions. The second-seeded Swiss will next face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in round 2.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 07: Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a forehand against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina in their singles match on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Tennis Centre on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena

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