Djokovic survives Australian Open scare, Alcaraz storms into second round

24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic's first match with former rival Andy Murray as his coach did not start well on Monday night, even against a 19-year-old making his Grand Slam debut.

But after dropping his opening set at the 2025 Australian Open to Nishesh Basavareddy, an American who left Stanford University and turned pro last month, Djokovic eventually asserted himself to claim a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory to begin his bid for an 11th championship at Melbourne Park and a record 25th major title overall.

"I'm obviously thrilled to have him in my corner," Djokovic said about Murray. "I must say, it was a little bit of a strange experience to have him at courtside in my box. We played for over 20 years against each other at the highest level. Great to have him on the same side of the net. He gave me some great advice mid-match."

During the match, aside from from an extended conversation before the fourth set, there was only occasional interaction between Djokovic and Murray – a pairing of 37-year-olds born a week apart, and opponents from the age of 12, including in a series of Grand Slam finals as pros. Murray retired at the Paris Olympics in August and Djokovic proposed joining forces in November.

The Serbian showed some of his usual fire after converting a vital break at the 1½-hour mark. He watched the 107th-ranked Basavareddy's forehand land wide and let out a yell, clenched a fist and pointed a finger at his ear. That was the beginning of the end for the American teenager, who started moving gingerly between points and grabbing at his legs, and took a medical timeout before the third set.

Djokovic has now registered at least one Grand Slam men's singles win in 21 different seasons, with only Roger Federer (22) managing the feat across more seasons in the Open Era. The Serbian next faces another unknown quantity in Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain began his bid to complete a career Grand Slam with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 win over Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko. Four-time major champion is targeting a maiden trophy at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to capture all four Grand Slam titles, and the 21-year-old impressed after a slightly nervy opening game.

10th seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov retired due to injury while trailing 7-5, 2-1 against Italian lucky loser Francesco Passaro, becoming the first top-10 player to exit the tournament.