'I'm double his age': Novak Djokovic's bold admittance after struggling against 18-year-old Prizmic

Novak Djokovic commences the Australian Open 2024 with a win over Croatian youngster Dino Prizmic in the first round. It was nowhere an easy contest for the 24-time Grand Slam winner. The Serb lost the tiebreaker in the second set and hence had to scamper some extra minutes to book his place in Round 2.

3 things you need to know

• Novak Djokovic beats Dino Prizmic in Round 1 of the Australian Open 2024
• He won the match in 4 sets
• Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam winner

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Novak Djokovic gets challenged by a player half his age

The Australian Open 2024 is finally up and away, and the No.1 seed Novak Djokovic has entered the grind as the favorite once again. The holder of 10 Australian Opens already, Djokovic would be vying to win his third consecutive major in Melbourne. The start however did not prove to be flawless, as the 36-year-old met a competitor half his age and with almost the same agility.

Djokovic won the first set without any hassle, however, he was made to fight for every point in the following set, which eventually was won by Prizmic. As the excitement wavered through the Rod Laver Arena, fans began to sense something extraordinary. However, Djokovic brought his experience into play and won the clutch points to ultimately prevail in four sets.

After the culmination of the match, during the hand-shake formality at the nets, Novak Djokovic encouraged his young opponent by backslapping, and even in the post-match comments section, he was all praise for Prizmic.

“He (Prizmic) deserves every applause and credit he got tonight,” said Djokovic after the match.
“He’s an amazing player, so mature for his age. He handled himself on the court incredibly well. This is his moment and it could have easily been his match as well. He was a break-up in the third, he fought even though he was 0-4 and a break point down (in the fourth). He showed great mentality and resilience and made me really run for my money tonight. An amazing performance for someone who is 18 years old, who doesn’t have the experience of playing on a big stage. We’re going to see a lot of him in the future.”

Nole, who is still going strong at 36 also mentioned the emergence of the young generation and quipped,

"Jeez, when you think about it, I’m double his age. Reality hits hard tonight,” joked Djokovic on court after his win.

Djokovic will be back on the court on Wednesday. He will take on the local lad Alexei Popyrin in Round 2 of Australian Open 2024.