Novak Djokovic opened his Australian Open title defense on Monday with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jeremy Chardy in the final game of the first day’s program at the Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic is looking for a ninth record title in Melbourne, where there are notable differences compared to previous Grand Slam tournaments of the year.
Whether mandatory face masks for all fans, quarantine codes on almost every visible surface or simply the absence of line people in the courts, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all sorts of changes around the world.
The Melbourne Park venue has been divided into three “fan zones”, with hand sanitizer stations that have proven to be more popular than the famous Aperol Spritz bar. The 15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena was completed by about a third in Djokovic’s match, arguably the largest audience of a major tournament in a year (Wimbledon was off the calendar for 2020, while the The US Open went without fans and less than 1,000 were allowed at the French Open). The state government allows up to 30,000 fans a day, but no court can have a capacity of more than 50%.
“It’s great to see you again at the stadium. It makes my heart full,” Djokovic told the crowd in his interview on the court after the game. “That’s the most people I’ve seen on the tennis court in 12 months. I’m very grateful. There’s a permanent love affair with me and with that court, Rod Laver Arena. Let’s keep going.”
Djokovic produced another Melbourne masterclass, winning 91 points to Chardy’s 52 and a staggering 86 per cent points when he landed his first serve. It was his 14th consecutive victory over Chardy.
He finished the first day full of stars on the center court with Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Dominic Thiem and Simona Halep, advancing easily before Monday’s final.
“Viouslybviament isn’t a full audience like I’m used to,” said Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner. “But at the same time, just having any kind of crowd – playing in New York where there was no crowd – is definitely nice.”
Almost all of the ranked players advanced to the second round as Venus Williams, Alexander Zverev, Petra Kvitova, Stan Wawrinka, Bianca Andreescu and Nick Kyrgios won their first matches. The only American man planted, No. 27, Taylor Fritz, also advanced. The 23-year-old Californian beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas by 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2 and 7-6 (6). It is the first time since 2015 that only one U.S. man was among the top 32 players on the field in Australia.
The best-ranked players who fell on Monday were Frenchman Gael Monfils, ranked tenth, who lost in five sets to Emil Ruusuvuori, who was unknown, while former Aussie Open champion Angelique Kerber , was dismissed 6-0 and 6-4 against the American Bernarda Pera.
Kerber cited his hotel quarantine fortnight as the reason for his lack of form; was one of 72 players forced into solitary confinement in hotel rooms in Melbourne for two weeks after being reported infected on three charter flights to Melbourne. Players were not allowed to leave their rooms to train.
“I didn’t feel the pace I had before the two weeks, to be honest,” Kerber said. “I was really trying to stay positive, but I’m sorry, especially if you play the first game in a Grand Slam against a rival who doesn’t stay in the hard closing.”
Rafael Nadal and hometown favorite Ashleigh Barty head the first round schedule for Day 2 in Melbourne (coverage begins Monday at 7pm ET on ESPN2, ESPN + and the ESPN app).
ESPN reporter Jake Michaels and The Associated Press contributed to this report.