Novak Djokovic was given a scare by Croatian teenager Dino Prizmic in the longest first-round match of his grand slam career.
The world number one is a big favourite to win an 11th title at Melbourne Park, where he has not lost since 2018, but he dropped the second set as 18-year-old Prizmic showed what makes him a major talent for the future.
The qualifier was briefly a break up in the third set and kept battling after Djokovic stepped things up before the defending champion finally clinched a 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-4 victory on his seventh match point after four hours and one minute.
The signs did not look good for Prizmic when he dropped his opening service game and then took a medical time-out at 2-3 for treatment to his left groin.
He already had tape on his right arm and could find nothing to hurt Djokovic in the first set, but things began to change early in the second.
Djokovic won a staggering 17 of his 19 tie-breaks at grand slams in 2023, including 15 in a row from the second round in Melbourne to the Wimbledon final, but here he played a very poor one and suddenly what had seemed a straightforward occasion became anything but.
Djokovic, who was dabbing his brow and puffing his cheeks, was making a lot of uncharacteristic errors and Prizmic fought back from 2-0 down in the third set to lead by a break at 3-2.
There was concern on the face Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic, who was among the spectators watching his countryman Prizmic’s run to the French Open junior title last year.
Djokovic ultimately found a way through, but the 36-year-old’s rivals will have been watching closely.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev was hugely relieved after edging past Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild in a fifth-set tie-break.
Rublev had in his mind his good friend Daniil Medvedev’s exit to Seyboth Wild at the same stage of the French Open last summer and he trailed 4-1 in the deciding tie-break after seeing a two-set lead and then four match points come and go.
But Rublev fought his way back to clinch a 7-5 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6 (10/6) victory after three hours and 42 minutes.
Former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini was a casualty without taking to the court, the Italian pulling out as his injury woes continued.
Berrettini had been due to face Stefanos Tsitsipas on Rod Laver Arena on Monday in one of the plum ties of the first round.
But on Sunday afternoon tournament organisers announced he had withdrawn with a right foot injury, making it the fourth time in the last eight grand slam tournaments where he has not been able to play a match.
Berrettini has been replaced in the draw by Belgian lucky loser Zizou Bergs, who will take on Tsitsipas.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner, one of the favourites for the title following his stellar end to 2023, began his campaign with a straight-sets win over Botic van de Zandschulp.
Sinner, who beat Djokovic twice in a matter of days at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup in November, was a 6-4 7-5 6-3 winner on Rod Laver Arena.
The Italian did not play a warm-up tournament after his late finish to last season and he said: “I feel like I started off actually really well for the first match.
“Then after I had some moments where I made a couple of wrong choices, but this can happen. It was important today for me because I was looking forward to stepping on the court.”
Twelfth seed Taylor Fritz was twice a set down to Facundo Diaz Acosta and needed treatment after rolling his ankle but recovered to claim a 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory.
Former finalist Marin Cilic played his first grand slam match since the US Open in 2022 following knee surgery but was beaten in four sets by Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
Sabalenka sets up Swiatek rematch at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open final for the second year running after beating Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in a semi-final classic on Thursday.
Fourth seed Rybakina made a flying start and took the opener within just 25 minutes, but Sabalenka hit back in a topsy-turvy second set featuring five breaks of serve to force a decider.
Both players were imperious on their own serve from there, with a tie-break required to split them. Sabalenka's power looked likely to overwhelm Rybakina as she raced into a 5-1 lead, but the former Wimbledon champion clung on by saving two match points on her own serve.
Sabalenka would not be denied third time around, though, a huge serve giving Rybakina no chance as the defending champion teed up a rematch with Swiatek, who she beat in the Spanish capital in last year's showpiece match.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka's unwanted record
Sabalenka has dropped 60 games at this year's Madrid Open. That makes her the player with the most games dropped en route to reaching the final since the tournament's inception in 2009.
The world number two had to dig deep in a match which saw Rybakina win more total points (99 to 95), but she will not mind one bit if she goes on to capture a third Madrid Open title on Saturday.
Lehecka into maiden Masters semi-final after Medvedev retires hurt
Jiri Lehecka progressed to the first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of his career as Daniil Medvedev retired hurt on Thursday at the Madrid Open.
Lehecka, who beat the great Rafael Nadal in the last 16, had just taken the first set 6-4 when Medvedev threw in the towel.
Medvedev had earlier received treatment from the physio, having seemingly struggled when moving to his right side.
"It's never easy in a match like this," Lehecka said. "If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn't be like that.
"So of course, it's never easy to see your opponent struggling, but at that moment, you just need to focus on yourself, trying to get the maximum level out of yourself."
Lehecka will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who progressed thanks to a walkover following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal, for a place in the final.
Data Debrief: Czech mates
Lehecka is the third Czech player to reach the semi-finals in Madrid, following Jiri Vovak and Tomas Berdych.
Should Lehecka reach the final, he will move into the top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time.
Swiatek races into Madrid Open final with dominant win over Keys
Iga Swiatek cruised into her second Madrid Open final on Thursday, maintaining her ominous form by beating Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 within 71 minutes.
Swiatek had been forced to fight back from a set down against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals, but there was no slow start on Thursday as she broke Keys' serve to love at the first attempt.
Only in the fifth game, when Keys failed to convert two break points, was Swiatek troubled in a 31-minute opener, and she carried that momentum into the second set with another early break.
Having eliminated Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur on a deeply impressive run, Keys had no answer for Swiatek's power as she clinically worked her way through the second set, the American's forehand running long on match point to seal a routine win for the world number one.
Having lost last year's final against Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek could face a rematch against the defending champion, who takes on Elena Rybakina in Thursday's other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses Serena
Saturday's final will be Swiatek's 11th at WTA 1000-level, the Pole going all the way on 37.9 per cent of her 29 main-draw entries at that level. That is a better ratio than 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams managed in her glittering career, the American doing so at 18 of 49 WTA 1000 tournaments (36.7 per cent).
Swiatek has now played eight matches in 2024 without dropping a single game on her own serve, a tally only matched by her possible final opponent Sabalenka on the WTA tour.
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