The World Number two and second seed, Novak Djokovic, was left stunned at the Australian Open on Thursday night. Having been drawn to play Denis Istomin, ranked 117 in the world, Djokovic was expected to make it comfortably through to the third round of the first Grand Slam of the year.
However, in what must go down as one of the biggest shocks in the history of tennis, the Serbian lost the match in five sets, to the little-known player from Uzbekistan. The 30-year-old had a very poor record against top ten players and was granted a wild card to enter the tournament. This did not stop Istomin from producing the performance of his life, after which he admitted he felt sorry for Djokovic, because he was playing so good.
The result means Sir Andy Murray will be feeling much better about his chances of claiming a first Australian Open title. The world number one is yet to win in Melbourne, despite having made the final five times. In all but one of those finals, Murray has lost to Djokovic so the Scot will be in a buoyant mood ahead of his next match, against Sam Querrey of the United States.
Murray injured his ankle in his previous match but should be fully fit for the third-round match and ready for an assault on his fourth Grand Slam title.
Going into 2017 as world number one, this could be a massive year for Murray and British tennis. Do not miss out on the opportunity to see Murray perform at Wimbledon this season, while he is at the top of the men’s game. We have a great range of official Wimbledon hospitality packages available and advise you to book now, to avoid disappointment.
