Novak Djokovic secures his place in the third round of the Australian Open
Serbian Novak Djokovic, a six-time winner of the Australian Open, confirmed his presence in the third round on Thursday by coming from behind (4-6, 6-3, 6-1, and 6-3) against Frenchman Gael Monfils.
The Belgrade player lost the first set 4-6, but reacted to secure his passage to the next stage by winning the next three sets 6-3, 6-1, and 6-3.
Djokovic's fifteenth victory in as many matches against Gael Monfils puts him in the third round of the first Grand Slam of the season, which he won in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016.
There he will face Spanish player Albert Ramos Viñolas, who defeated American Tim Smyczek.
"I'm going to try to play the best match possible. This is tennis, you never know," warned the Catalan player, making his debut in the third round of the Australian Open.
Albert Ramos will face Novak Djokovic without having dropped a single set in his matches against Americans Jared Donaldson (6-2, 6-3, and 6-4) and Tim Smyczek (6-4, 6-2, and 7-6), his opponents in the first and second round, respectively.
Novak Djokovic, who is playing in his first official tournament at Melbourne Park since his withdrawal in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in July 2017, did lose a set to Gael Monfils after his solid start against American Donald Young.
The head-to-head between Novak Djokovic and Albert Ramos is in favor of the Serbian, 4-0.