Novak Djokovic has made a winning return to the Australian Open in 2024, defeating Croatia’s Dino Prizmic 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 on the opening day to book his place in the second round. The 10-time champion of this tournament — who has won four more titles than any other player in the competition’s history, now prepares for a match-up with Alexei Popyrin in the second round.
Born in Sydney to Russian parents, Popyrin impressed massively in round one, beating Melbourne native Marc Polmans in straight sets to book a place against the world number one. His 6-3 7-6 6-2 victory over Polmans means he’s one of just six Australians in the men’s draw who made it into the second round.
The pair have only faced off once before in their careers, with Djokovic winning 6-4 6-2 at the 2019 Japan Open. The Serb will be keen to make it another routine second-round victory as he advances towards a potential 11th title, but with the home crowd behind him at Melbourne Park, could the world number 43 spring a surprise for the ages?
Djokovic is the second match of the night session on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, January 17 (AEDT) local time.
The times below are approximate start times depending on how long the Brenda Fruhvirtova vs Aryna Sabalenka match before them takes.
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Here’s how to watch this match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
USA: Both Fubo and ESPN+ are streaming the match live, and US fans can also tune into ESPN and the Tennis Channel to watch on TV.
Canada: RDS and TSN are showing the action live, as well as streaming on TSN Direct.
UK: Eurosport will offer live broadcast coverage of the match, with viewers also able to stream the action via discovery+.
Australia: Channel Nine’s Wide World of Sports are broadcasting the match live, with Stan Sport doing likewise on their streaming service
The 18-year-old Prizmic did win one set over Djokovic in round one, but was still forced to a break point to claim that 7-6 victory, temporarily drawing level in the match before being defeated 6-3 6-4 in the next two as the reigning champion progressed.
Despite that slight setback in his opening match, and Popyrin’s straight-sets win over Polmans, this should still be a game which Djokovic will win comfortably. The Australian may well win a set and push the world number one close on occasion, but that won’t be anywhere near enough to stop Djokovic from recording another Australian Open victory.
Prediction: Djokovic to win — but drop one set along the way.