Djokovic given third set fright by French wildcard

Thursday, 21 January 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Djokovic

REUTERS: World number one Novak Djokovic gave French teenager Quentin Halys a free tennis lesson for about an hour before the wildcard showed how much he had learnt in the Serb’s 6-1 6-2 7-6(3) Australian Open second round win on Wednesday.

Djokovic was at his clinically efficient best in the first two sets as he looked to be tactically three shots ahead of Halys and he opened up space on court at will while he romped to a 2-0 lead inside an hour.

The 19-year-old wildcard, ranked 167th in the world, then fought back in the third set, breaking the Serb for the first time and putting him under pressure before Djokovic ran away with the tie-break.

Djokovic, who is aiming for a record-equalling sixth Australian Open title, will next face either Italy’s Andreas Seppi or American Denis Kudla in the third round.