Melbourne, Jan 18 (Agency) Novak Djokovic returned to Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, and left as the winner as he has done so many times in the past. The Serb began his quest for a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title and 10th at Melbourne Park by downing Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 in the night session under a closed roof to the delight of the majority assembled. Indeed, he received lengthy applause when entering RLA. Twenty-two is also how many consecutive matches Djokovic has now won at the Australian Open. Notable from the outset was strapping to Djokovic’s upper left leg, which he also sported in practice ahead of the encounter. Chants of “Novak, Novak” reverberated around Rod Laver Arena in the warmup and Djokovic – dressed in aqua blue – duly thumped an ace to open proceedings. Djokovic saved three straight breakpoints at 2-2 in the first, part of a stretch where he registered 12 consecutive points to take control. In between, he left the court for a toilet break at 3-2.
He ripped ground strokes upon his return in a game that featured rallies of 24, 18 and 14 shots. A flurry of lengthy games surfaced early in the second set, including at 3-3. Djokovic stretched a sliding Carballes Baena into both corners as part of a 28-shot rally for 15-30. But Carballes Baena responded with successive aces. Djokovic stayed in the game and earned a breakpoint when his drop shot dribbled off the top of the tape. A rocketed Djokovic backhand down the line sealed the game, and he barely dropped a point thereafter. In the second round, Djokovic meets either French qualifier Enzo Couacaud or Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien.